Always Yours
by ichipup
Summary: Saruman's powers are growing, and to save their beloved Shire, Pippin and Merry sneak along with Gandalf to help stop him. Meeting up with the fellowship to stop him, the two discover more feelings for each other each step of the way. Pip/Mer Slash. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Pippin's Pov:

Every morning when I open my eyes and see my home, the Shire, I smile. I love the Shire more that anything and feel so lucky to call it home.

"Pippin!" Merry calls my name, and jumps on my bed.

"Good mornin'!" I smile and tackle Merry playfully. We have been like brothers, not blood related but nothing can sever our bond. We're never seen apart.

Merry's POV:

I laugh as Pippin tackles me, I'm always happier when I am with him. Which basicly is all the time! Then I remember why I came in,

"Pippin! Gandalf's coming to the shire!" I say.

"What! Let's go!" Pippin replies excitedly.

"Pippin, eat first." I say sternly, I always have to remind forgetful Pippin of things.

"Oh, right!" Pippin says and runs to the table, shoveling in a quick breakfast. I laugh, Pippin can brighten anyone's day with his happy outlook.

Pippin's POV:

I finish up my quick breakfast of bread, and boisonberry juice, not eating nearly as much today for my excitement to see Gandalf is so large. I then run to my room to quickly change out of my pajamas; It only takes a minute for me to get ready.

"Come on!" I grab Merry's hand and run, pulling him out the door. We run hand in hand, all the way through the Shire, shouting "Gandalf's coming, Gandalf's coming!" Frodo must of heard us, because he comes running out of his home and follows behind us, shouting the same thing.

"Hello Merry, Pippin, ," Samwise says as he joins our shouting crowd. I can't wait to see Gandalf so I continue shouting that he's coming and pulling Merry's hand.

"Let's go! I want to be there when he comes!"

Merry's POV:

"Pippin's right, come on!" All four of us run to the entrance to the Shire and fall down on the green grass panting. Even Pippin looks tired from the run.

"Gandalf!" I hear Frodo say, and we are all running to meet the wizard. Frodo throws himself into Gandalf's horsedrawn cart laughing.

"Oh, I saw you just a month ago!" says Gandalf.

"Much too long a time to be separated from good friends," Sam exclaims. Frodo is still laughing when we all pile into Gandalf's Cart and Pippin shouts-

"Attack of the Hobbits!"

We all hug Gandalf so tightly, which forces a smile out of the old wizard. He ruffles my hair and states-

"Merry, have you grown?"

How did you know? I grew half a centimetre scince I saw you last!" I pronounced proudly.

"What! Not fair!" Pippin exlaims, he had always been a bit taller, despite the fact that I was older, and I was catching up.

"Alright, alright, let's get going," Gandalf says as he pats the horse to start the cart moving again.

Pippin's POV:

Sam almost falls off as the cart starts, but I grab the back of his shirt.

"Samwise Gamchee you ought' to be more careful," I scold him playfully.

"Thanks Pippin," Sam says greatfuly.

"It was nothing Sam," I insist. Sam is always so loyal, a hobbit to his word and I respected him for that. And you really just couldn't help but love Sam, he was so easy to befriend and always stayed by his friends sides.

"No, it wasn't nothing," Merry says "He now owes you his life and is your servant from now on."

"Merry!" Frodo says, shocked, actually taking this seriously, while Sam jokingly punches Merry in the arm for his idea.

"Out of all the places I have visited..." Gandalf starts, "The Shire has to be the most fun." Frodo smiles at this, forgetting his worry's for Sam, and pipes up-

"Look Gandalf!" Tiny butterfly's swirl around the old wizard as if welcoming him and I laugh as one tickles my cheek.

Merry's POV:

I smile as I see Pippin and the little butterfly. Pippin looks so cute when he laughs like that. We have always been like brothers (we were cousins), but I have felt something more than that, unknown to Pippin. He smiles at me and tries to show me the little butterfly as it flies to join it's group of friends, hovering around Gandalf.

The butterflies follow us through the Shire as Hobbits are waving and shouting hello's to Gandalf. The cart slows to a stop and Sam hops out to see the horses.


	2. Chapter 2

**note: **Yes this story will have many chapters ^_^ please review if you like it, want me to continue, or have any feedback! Enjoy~

Pippin's POV:

"I want to see the horses too!" I say exitedly. I hop out chasing after Sam to see the creatures I rarley get to see.

"We have horses here you two." Frodo mutters.

"Those are ponies." Sam states a-matter-of-factly. I stick out my toungue jokingly at Frodo. It's true, we didn't have horses here at the Shire, they were so huge compared to Hobbits, so we only use ponies.

"Come on Pippin, let's show Gandalf to where he's staying." Merry beckons.

"I know where I'm staying Merry, same place every time," the old wizard laughs. The dwelling Gandalf stays in is the biggest one in the Shire, the hobbit's miniature sized dwellings built into the ground and covered with a grassy roof are about half the size of the one that was made for 'taller' visitors. Gandalf is the only one who visits the Shire anyways, so it is mainly used by him.

"We can be your... uh.. escorts!" I make an excuse to stay with the old wizard I have grown to love so much, all of us have.

"I would be happy to have you lead me there young hobbits." Gandalf smiles.

Merry's POV:

I give Gandalf a wide smile, and call Pippin over to take him to his large dwelling. Pippin run-skips over, like he wants to run but is too excited and overjoyed not to skip. I laugh at his high spirits, and call to Gandalf-

"This way!" Even though I know he is sure of the direction. We walk through the Shire leaving Frodo and Sam behind to take the horses and cart to the pasture. We talk and Gandalf asks us what has been happening in the Shire while he was gone, and tells us of his many adventures.

"Tell us more!" Pippin and I shout in unison.

"I have to save some adventures for the bonfire tonight!" Gandalf says.

"I almost forgot about the bonfire, with Gandalf here and all!" I exclaim to Pippin.

"Oh yeah, the bonfire!" Tonight there is going to be a bonfire that all the Shire is invited to, an event that has been planed for Gandalf's arrival. Mostly by Sam, Pippin and I, Frodo and his uncle Bilbo though. Gandalf is our friend and we wanted to hold something fun for him. The Shire is all coming because they just are looking for an excuse to eat and have fun. Just as we finish talking about how excited we are, we're at Gandalf's guest dwelling. We leave the wizard to settle in and go back home to our dwellings to prepare for the bonfire. Mine and Pippin's dwellings are right beside each other, so we often end up staying over at one another's often, we don't like to be apart.

Pippin's POV:

"Bet I can get ready first!" I challenge Merry. The look in his eyes says bring it on so we both sprint into out homes. I run to through on my warm clothes, and grab a green cape to wear on the way out, as I'm running out the door I run smack into Merry and we both fall to the ground.

"Ouch!" I cry, I land funny on my ankle and it is throbing with a sharp pain.

"Pippin!" Merry hurries to my side, "Are you okay!"

"Are you?" I wince as a sharp pain comes from my ankle as I try to stand.

"Im fine, don't move." Merry assures me, I brush the dirt off his cheek from the fall. He picks me up, carrying me bridal-style, (authors note: he's not a girl or even too girly i just didn't know how to describe it!).

"Merry..." I whisper.

"Really I'm fine, I need to get you to Gandalf." I don't say another word, I just try to bear the pain, and cling on to Merry. He carries me all the way to Gandalf's and calls from the door.

"Gandalf! Pippin is hurt!" Gandalf arrives at the door less than a second after Merry calls and beckons us inside.

"Oh my, you carried him all the way here?" he asks. Merry nods. "Let me take him for you,"

"No, I'm fine. Where do you want him?" I gaze up at Merry, he really is strong. I know we're Hobbits and all, but for him to carry me all the way here...

"On the bed," Gandalf points to a large bed over in the corner, and Merry brings me to it and gently lays me down on the soft sleeping place.

"Really I'm fine," I protest but Merry cut's me off.

"Pippin you need help for your ankle, don't worry, it's not a bother for anyone. I can't stand to see you in this pain." Merry smiles sympitheticly and holds my hand as Gandalf grabs some cloth and other tools and heads over to asses my ankle.

After looking over it for a while he says "don't worry it's just a sprain." Merry breathes as sigh of relief, and Gandalf wraps my ankle in a cloth and ties it securley. "You can walk on it, just don't run or anything like that."

I look outside and see the pink and orange sky, "It's sunset! The bonfire!"

Merry's POV:

"You go Gandalf, it's for you. We will meet you there, thanks for helping Pippin."

"Of course, see you two there." Gandalf leaves, putting on his hat I love so much on the way out. For a second I wonder if he knows of my secret affection for Pippin as he gives me a knowing smile as he heads out the door.

"How does your ankle feel?"

"Much better actally!" Pippin says happily.

"I'm so glad..." I lean in slowly and close my eyes as I gently kiss Pippin on his beautiful lips. I pause, scared I might have ruined everything we have, and look into his eyes.

"Merry..." Pippin's eyes are full of tenderness as he leans in and kisses me back, the kiss is gentle and full of love. I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life and I hop on the bed and hold Pippin, never wanting to let go as he sighs contently and leans his head into my chest.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Pippin's POV:

I can't beleive Merry just kissed me! Finally, I have held my feelings for him in, and now I just want to stay in his arms forever.

"Merry," I say, him still holding me on the bed, "I don't want to leave to go to the bonfire."

"We will stay together the whole time, don't worry I'm not likely to be able to leave your side for even a second now Pippin," his reply makes me blush, so I hide my face. He lifts my chin up so im looking at him straight on. "Don't hide your face when you blush, you're so cute when you blush," he says which only makes me blush more.

"Alright, let's head over to the bonfire then!" I say, taking the subject off my reddening face, and take his hand, hopping down from the large bed.

"How do you think the other's will take it?" Merry asks, worried.

"I don't think they have to know yet," I wink at him.

"I agree, let's keep it a secret for now, although I'm pretty sure Gandalf knows..." Merry mutters the last part, and I decide it's better not to ask but my curious nature gets the best of me anyways.

"Huh? How?"

"Umm... nevermind," Merry laughs, and still holding my hand walks out the door heading to the bonfire. I look up and see a dark purple sky, where the pink and orange sunset used to be. Merry seems to notice too,because he looks up and says, "Oh man! We gotta get going!" So we run hand in hand to the bonfire held in the center of the shire in a grassy clearing, with stones around the fire to keep it away from the flamable grass.

Merry's POV:

We release each others hands as we near the gathering site, acting as nothing happened even though we both felt the love between us as we approached the fire. The flames rose high, at least three times a full grown hobbit, and I spot Frodo, Sam, and Gandalf sitting on the grass, and on logs over at the side of the huge bonfire.

"Hey!" Frodo notices us too and waves us over.

"You're just in time, Gandalf is gong to tell us another adventure!" Sam proclaims excitedly. I look at Gandalf eagerly awaiting more exciting tales, and Gandalf looks as if he knows of Pippin and I's love, but only gives me that face for a second, then he smiles and starts his story.

"About a week or so before I came to the Shire this morning I was in Rohan and was meeting with..." the old Wizard starts. Usually I would be hanging on his every word but I'm too distracted by the kiss, replaying it over and over again in my head, to focus on Gandalf's travels. About a minute into the story Pippin's stomach rumbles.

"I think I'm going to go get some food." he says, then looks at me, "Coming Merry?" He knows that I will come, and I know by the look in his eye he was thinking the same thing I was, and not really concentrating on the story so we both head off in search of some food.

"Count on your hunger to save the day," I joke at Pippin.

"I am hungry! But it was fortunate," he winks at me.

"Over there!" I lead him to a table with food laid out on it, and hand him a bowl made of bread, with peas,cabbage, sausage, and gravy inside and then take one for myself. Both of us starving, we sit on a log close to the fire and dig into our food. We quickly finish, despite the large serving, and Pippin stretches his feet out to be warmed by the blazing fire. I move closer to him and discreetly hold his hand, covering it by our capes.

"A circle dance, I'm to full for a circle dance," Pippin decides and smiles as he holds my hand tighter. He was right, hobbits had started to form a circle around the enourmous bonfire, linking arms.

"While then we better get out of here!" I say with a coy smile.

Pippin's POV:

I nod, and rise, helping Merry up.

"Come on," I say, leading him into a grassy field, still inside the borders of the Shire, and close to the bonfire. We laugh as we look back and see Gandalf struggling to dance in the circle, Sam trying to teach him with not much success. It's dark in the field, but still enough to see because of the light from the bonfire isn't too far away.

"Finally, I hate hiding our love, but it is kinda fun. Knowing you have a secret that no one else knows." Merry mutters, so as not to be heard by the dancing hobbits twenty meters away. I love how easily he says _love_, not holding anything back.

"I love you Merry, I always have," I say as I lean towards him and give him the kiss I have been holding back through the bonfire. In the short time we have had to hide our affection, I realized it was still seemed too long. I deepen the kiss, and take a breath of air. Merry smiles, then growls playfully and tackles me, pinning my back to the grass covered ground. He lets go of the hold, keeping me to the ground and kisses me hard, but full of love. I return the kiss, then freeze. Mary scrambles off me and we both look up to see Samwise staring at us, mouth hanging open in shock.


	4. Chapter 4

**Review if you like it and want me to continue! I'm going to continue anyways because I am stubborn but I would like to hear your feedback! Enjoy~ (Disclaimer on profile)**

Merry's POV:

Samwise just stood there, and after a while, closed his mouth but started to stutter, not sure what to say.

"Sam..." I start. But as soon as I say a word he falls to the ground.

"Sam!" Pippin exclaims and rushes over to Sam's side on the ground. "Ha ha, hahaha!" Pippin is rolling on the ground, laughing so hard he wipes tears out of his eyes as he says- "He... he.. fainted!"

"What!" I exclaim as I run over, and start laughing along with Pippin. "Did you see his face! Too much to handle for him right now I suppose," We finally stop laughing and ponder over what to do with him.

I'll run and fetch some water from the well, to wake him with," Pippin offered. I shake my head.

"It's on the other side of the Shire, here you grab his arms and I'll grab his legs." We carry Sam like this, back to the bonfire where we find Hobbits still having a good time, talking and dancing and such. We spot Gandalf sitting down on a log with a drink in his hand and we bring Samwise over to him.

"What did you two do to him?" Gandalf asks suspiciously. We have a habit of getting in to trouble sometimes, and he knows it.

"This time it wasn't our fault! Kind of..." Pippin defends.

"What did you two do to Sam!" Frodo cried out as he ran over from the fire.

"Again?" Pippin pipes up, being blamed twice was starting to get annoying. Frodo started to hyperventilate; the hobbit always overreacts at things that can easily be fixed. (*authors note: sorry for all you Frodo fans but this is how his character is going to be.*)

"Calm down Frodo, he just fainted he'll come to shortly." I reassure the scared hobbit.

"So what did happen?" Gandalf asked suspiciously.

"Well..." I take Pippin's hand and continue. "He walked in on us." I say, Gandalf's face is free of surprise, and Frodo just looked confused.

Pippin's POV:

"Kissing," I clarify "And don't you pass out Frodo!" I warn. It's silent for a few seconds, and then Merry pipes up.

"You knew all along didn't you Gandalf." Merry says, not asking a question. I look over at Merry, confused.

"Yes," Gandalf says with a nod. "To a wizard, particularly a very observant wizard, it was obvious. "I look down and feel my cheeks heat up as Gandalf tells us this.

Frodo looks shocked, but before he can say anything Samwise stirs, muttering as he tries to sit up.

"What the-" Sam says as he opens his eyes.

"How did... oh!" his eyes widen as he remembers what he saw before his "incident".

"We told them." Merry and i say in unison. Sam looks relieved, probably because he didn't want to explain.

"Well that's all settled!" Merry proclaimed and hopped to his feet, pulling me up in the process. "Come on Pip!" He led me, running, to a table near the fire, jumping on it with me. "Attention everyone!" Merry declared. Around 100 pairs of hobbit eyes turned towards us, what was he doing! He then handed me a mug of beer and took one for himself from the table beneath us. "I would like to propose a toast, to our friend Gandalf!" Cheers rose from the crowd, not all even really knew Gandalf personally, but it _was _a free bonfire, and the ones who did know him were fond of the wise wizard. I smiled in Gandalf's direction and once the cheers died down, i started to sing him a song, his song that I wrote for him upon his arrival. I opened my mouth to sing my tribute to Gandalf.

"_When evening in the Shire was grey_ _his footsteps on the Hill are heard;  
before the dawn he goes away  
on journey long without a word.  
From Wilderland to Western shore,  
form northern waste to southern hill  
through dragon-lair and hidden door  
and darkling woods he walks at will.  
With Dwarves and Hobbits, Elves and Men,  
with mortal and immortal folk,  
with bird on bough and beast in den,  
in their own secret tongues he spoke.  
A deadly sword, a healing hand,  
a back that bent beneath its load;  
a trumpet-voice, a burning brand,  
a weary pilgrim on the road.  
A lord of wisdom throned he sat,  
swift in anger, quick to laugh;  
an old man in a battered hat_ _who leans upon a thorny staff._"

It was silent for a while, then applause, rose and when I looked in Gandalf's direction I saw tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, clapping along with the others.

Merry and I taped our mugs, and drank with the rest of the Shire in a salute to the wizard.

After the toast, the bonfire was reduced to embers, and hobbits started to head home to rest and dream, and probably sleep in tomorrow after the long night.

Merry's POV:

"Goodnight young hobbits," Gandalf smiled with a ruffle of my hair.

"Goodnight Gandalf," Pippin, Sam, Frodo, and I said, smiling back, Pippin yawning afterwards. And with that, we all returned to our homes, Gandalf to his guest home. Pippin and I walked hand in hand to our side by side dwellings, and stopped at the parting between the two. Pippin yawned, again, and without a word I led him into my dwelling, as we had done many times before. However this was our first time since we revealed our love. But both of us did not feel odd, this time either.

"How long did it take you to form that song Pip?" I ask.

"About a month I suppose, I just missed Gandalf and wanted to do something for him when he arrived, and that's what I came up with."

"He really felt that in his heart," I add, and smile over at him. I shuffle to my room and shuffle through my drawers for some pajamas, only finding a flannel pair. I grab the sleepwear and throw them to Pippin as he enters my bedroom. I turn around as Pippin puts them on, and i strip my shirt off. When i turn around, Pippin is pulling on the shirt, as he turns around.

"What a night," i say and wink to Pippin.

"I'll say!" He laughs as we climb into my warm, double bed. As on cue, we both yawn and snuggle deeper under the covers. Pippin notices me shivering, cold from being shirtless, so he moves closer to me and wraps his arms around me, instantly warming me up. We fall asleep this way, me with a smile on my face.


	5. Chapter 5

**No reviews so far! . if i do get some i will update really fast i promise! Enjoy~**

Pippin's POV:

When I awake, my arms are still around Merry, and I smile; the memories of last night flooding over me. I carefully release him, and quietly sneak out of bed, so not to wake him. But he hears me and mutters something I can't hear and his eyes flutter open.

"Good Morning!" I say, and kiss him, lightly on his lips.

"Morning Pip," He sleepily smiles back at me.

"Can I borrow a towel?" I ask.

"Yep," he yawns , "There's one in the bathroom." So I walk to the bathroom, and start to strip off my clothes as I wait for the bath to fill. It is a oval basin, with a bucket at the side, to pour the water on yourself. Once it is filled, I ease in the the warm water.

Merry's POV:

I stretch, and pull back the covers, wrapping my arms around myself as I hop out of the bed. I hear running water from the bathroom, then it stops, and is replaced by the sound of Pippin getting in and a familiar song:

_Sing hey! For the bath at close of day_

_That washes the weary mud away!_

_A loon is he that will not sing:_

_O! Water hot is a noble thing!_

_O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain,_

_And the brook that leaps from hill to plain;_

_But better than rain or rippling streams_

_Is water hot that smokes and steams._

_O! Water cold we may pour at need_

_Down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;_

_But better is beer, if drank we lack,_

_And water hot poured down the back._

_O! Water is fair that leaps on high_

_In a fountain white beneath the sky;_

_But never did fountain sound so sweet_

_As splashing hot water with my feet!_

I join Pippin in the last verse from my room, laughing at Pippin's bath song I have heard many times before. I get dressed in trousers and a loose white shirt with an tan-orange vest over top. It is surprisingly comfortable, and easy to move in. I decide to run over to get some clothes for Pippin before he is finishes his bath. I grab the same outfit, his vest in green, and run back to my house, laying it outside the bathroom door for him when he is finished. Then I head to the kitchen, to make up some breakfast of bacon, apples, berry juice and bread. As I finish making breakfast, Pippin walks in in the outfit I had brought, and I toss him an apple. He catches it easily, and shakes his wet hair at me.

"Hey!" I laugh, water spraying on my face.

"Sorry, I just had to," Pippin winks, as he takes a bite of his apple, one of his favourite foods.

We quickly finish breakfast, both of us have immense appetites and are finishing the last of the juice when Pippin suggests-

"I've got an idea, why don't we wake Gandalf!"

"And if he wants to sleep in?" I ask, we both pause for a moment, then burst out laughing. It was a joke; if he was still sleeping, all the more fun!

So we ran half way, then walked the other half to Gandalf's dwelling he was staying in, passing hobbit's waking up, some starting to head out to start the day. When we arrived, we strolled up to his large door, using the shorter, hobbit height, knocker, as opposed to the one built for people Gandalf's height, that our heads reached.

"Come in," Gandalf called from his bedroom.

We opened the door, and stepped in to the dwelling, we then found Gandalf packing his things, on the same bed Pippin had his ankle treated, the same bed we had our first kiss on.

"Where are you going Gandalf? Do you have to leave already?" I asked, worried.

"I am afraid so, urgent business needs to be attended to. Although it would be much more pleasurable staying here, I must depart." Pippin and I both displayed sad frowns at these words.

Pippin's POV:

I was too curious not to ask why he had to leave so suddenly.

"And what urgent business would it be?" I ask.

"No business you should have to worry about," Gandalf,said, his eyes sincere.

"Gandalf," I start "what is it?"

"I suppose I must tell you. Now listen, this is a serious matter, and you two shouldn't concern yourselfs but if I do not stop it you will find out anyways," He starts, then pauses, and we look at him expectantly, urging him to continue.

"An old friend of mine, Saruman has changed for what reason I do not know. He is a powerful wizard, and now he is growing more and more powerful, and power hungry. He has grown...evil. I He wants to take over Middle earth, to rule all. I must do all I can to stop him, so I am riding to Mirkwood to gather with others to unite against Saruman."

I start to open my mouth to contradict us having to stay here, when Merry cuts me off.

"I understand, good luck Gandalf," Merry says solemnly, Gandalf nodding in reply. "Let me get your bags for you, you can go outside to set up the cart," Merry offers.

"Thank you Merry," Gandalf says as he heads outside to the cart.

"What are you doing! We can't just sit around here, and do nothing!" I exclaim, hushed, to Merry.

"Getting us on the cart," He replies, sounding cunning. Before I can ask again, he hides a carved wooden box from the dresser under the bed.

"Do you need help with the bags?" Gandalf comes in to check on us.

"Oh, sorry, is this all?" Merry waves his hands, gesturing to the bags on the bed.

"No, actually I am missing my Medicine Case I must have left it at the bonfire last night. I had brought it in case Pippin's ankle was hurting him. I could have swore I brought it back..."

"Well we are helping out... Bilbo today!" I say, catching on to Merry's plan. "So we best say our goodbyes now, and hurry back."

Gandalf nods and bids us farewell, then quickly strides out the door, in head of the bonfire site. Merry and I then exchange worried looks, eyes wide.

"Run," I say. He grabs the box from under the bed and runs , sprinting out the door.

Merry's POV:

I take a path through the forest, so as not to be seen by Gandalf. My lungs feel as though they are about to burst, but I keep running. I make it to the bonfire, and thankfully with no sign of Gandalf yet. I place the Medicine Case on a mossy log, where Gandalf had sat last night, and run back through the forest, hoping I had made it there before him, and not the opposite.

When I make it back, I see Pippin lugging the last bag into the cart, Samwise helping him.

"We know," Frodo states from the front of the cart. "We overheard and know your plan to sneak on."

"Great," I say, ignoring him. "Come on Pip." We both climb into the back of the cart.; only to be joined by Frodo and Sam.

"We are Shire folk too, you can't keep us behind," I know there is no use trying to get them to stay, so I don't protest when Pippin quickly covers us all with a blanket, used to go over the luggage. Soon after, we hear footsteps, and we all hold our breath.

"What if he puts the box back here!" Samwise whispered in distress. I lay a finger to my lips, silencing him, and we all close our eyes, praying he doesn't discover us. We hear Gandalf climb into the front, and the horses hooves clicking on the stones as the cart begins to move. We all let out our breaths, and get ready for a long, silent journey to Mirkwood.


	6. Chapter 6

**Still no reviews . I would really like your feedback and opinions! ^^**

Pippin's POV:

The ride to Mirkwood was horribly dull, no one could even utter a word, for fear of being heard by Gandalf from our hiding place under the blanket in the back of the cart. But I endured the dull silence, for I was determined to defend the Shire if it was at stake.

The light began to grow dim, and soon all of us four Hobbits eyes drooped and soon fell asleep.

I was awoken by Frodo calling my name to wake me up.

"Huh?" I muttered sleepily as I slowly opened my eyes.

"Your four exceed ignorance, and disregard!" Gandalf shouted.

"We can't just sit around, while all of Middle Earth is in danger!" Merry retorted.

I let myself out of the cart, walking over to where Merry and Gandalf were arguing, only to be hit in the head by Gandalf's staff.

"Jeez!" I grimaced while rubbing my sore head.

"Don't worry, we all got that too," Samwise assured it wasn't just me.

"This is no Hobbit's battle," Gandalf declared.

"This includes the Shire, and I am going to defend my home," I defend. Gandalf frowned, but understood my determined view.

"It is too far for you four to return now, you must come to Mirkwood," The wizard sighed. We all cheered at these words.

"But you must realize the danger you will be in." He warned and we all nodded solemnly. He then took out two tents from the cart.

"Set up these two tents, we will make camp for the night, it is already late, and we will have to get up early tomorrow so don't take your time," Gandalf ordered.

"Why do we have to set them up?" Merry proclaimed.

"Because it's your fault we have to set up two tents anyhow," the wizard retorted. So we started to set up the tents, and by the time when we were done we joined Gandalf in front of the two. Sam and Frodo pulled up two mossy, fallen logs from the woods to sit on, whilst Gandalf sat on the stump by the tents. The wizard picked up a pinecone from the ground as we all sat down, and placed it in front of him and let go. The pinecone floated in midair, as if suspended by a string. Gandalf then gestured his hands, and it burst into flame. I gasped in awe and leaned in closer to get a better look at the tiny flame that gave off so much heat.

Merry's POV:

Pippin seemed extremely interested in the floating fire Gandalf had made. Pippin could be childish, but also deep and sincere. Pippin was so adorable right now, still fascinated by the pinecone fire. I wanted to hold him right now, and I dreamed of the moments yesterday that our lips had met for the first times. Pippin glanced over at me and smiled as our eyes met. Gandalf handed out some food, and we quickly devoured the bread.

"As I said before, it is already late, and we must rise early tomorrow." Gandalf said as we finished, and with that, the flame went out, pinecone dropping to the ground, not even charred.

We all climbed into the tents, Gandalf obviously took up more room, so him and Frodo shared a tent, and Pippin, Sam, and I shared the other. Sam fell asleep as soon as he crawled under his blanket, so Pippin and I were left alone together.

"I know it will be dangerous, but I'm willing to do this if it's for the Shire," I say to Pippin.

"I agree, and as long as I'm with you, I will always keep going on." This was too much for me, I couldn't withhold. Pippin was so sweet. So I held him in my arms (we shared a larger blanket) and kissed him silently. Pippin, kissed me back, and gazed lovingly into my eyes afterwards. He ran his hands up and down the front of my shirt, and I thought about how glad I was that I had worked out to keep up some muscle as his hands reached my abs. I stroked his cheek, and kissed him one last time on the forehead before we fell into a peaceful slumber, in each other's arms; something I believe we would be doing a lot now.

I woke up first, and saw Gandalf through the opening in the tent, preparing the cart for departure. So I woke Pippin and Sam, and we stumbled out of the tent, joined by Frodo.

"Good, you're awake." Gandalf said, though he didn't sound as angry anymore. _Good thing he's cooled down. _I thought gratefully. We helped pack up the tents and it didn't take long for us to finish.

"Alright, we best be finishing the journey to Mirkwood then!" Gandalf, said as he climbed into the front of the cart.

"You mean we will be there today?" Sam asked, eyes wide.

"If we get going now!" Gandalf joked and laughed, and got into the cart. We all hopped in the back, all though we no longer needed the blanket covering us as a disguise, so we sat on it instead.

Pippin's POV:

The journey to Mirkwood was more interesting than I expected. We spent it talking, and eating the rest of the bread. I spent a lot of my time admiring the beautiful sights we passed

Our cart rolled by tiny ponds with lilies around the edge and tall weeds poking out of the water, with little frogs hopping around. Samwise was intrigued with the rolling hills, covered with multiple coloured flowers I had pointed out to him. Merry held my hand for most of the journey, we were inseparable, and it was obvious.

"Here we are." Gandalf says as we roll into a dense forest.

"This... is Mirkwood?" Frodo asks. "With it being a land of the elves, I just expected something different."

"This," Gandalf clarified. "is the forest portion. We must pass through Mirkwood's forest to get to the more populated part." The forest was fairly dense, however sun shone through the branches in the trees easily. I looked up and saw leafy vines hanging from the trees, then down and saw roots covering a good part of the ground. The cart miraculously made its way through the deep forest quite well.

We traveled through the forest for a while, and then it started to clear up and we saw the part of Mirkwood we had been waiting for. We were expecting something grand, but this was more beautiful than we could have imagined. The first thing I noticed as our cart emerged from the forest was a flowing waterfall; it's clear, blue water shining in the sunlight. There were elves around the vast pool of water where it flowed, and then led to a river which seemed to run through Mirkwood, passing a large castle-like structure. The towering place was white, and had many openings, where elves could be seen walking down long, open balconies that led back into the walls. Spiral staircases perturbed from the walls, leading to higher levels, and one from the back, that led to a low level near the falls, close enough to hop of to the grassy space beside the reservoir.

"Merry... Is this real?" I asked in shock.

"I think so Pip," he replied, sounding just as amazed.


	7. Chapter 7

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Merry's POV:

All of our mouths were hanging open in shock, gazing at the beautiful place called Mirkwood before us. Although Gandalf didn't seem as shocked and in awe as we did, and I suspected he had been here before. Some of the elves glanced over at us, a curious look on their faces, for they do not often see a wizard and four hobbits in Mirkwood.

Samwise looked extraordinarily excited, his eyes gleaming and his smile wide. Sam had a fascination with elves, and loved to hear stories of fantasy, but ones that included the tall, beautiful, pointy-eared people were his favourite. He had once spotted an elf in the woods bordering the Shire when he was younger, and had always hoped to see one again. Gandalf seemed to notice Sam's delight and smiled at the enlivened hobbit.

"Greetings... Gandalf the Grey," A tall elf, with long silvery hair, a silver flowing tunic and sliver-blue pants beneath, and of course pointed ears, greeted the old Wizard.

"Hello, I do not believe we have met before," Gandalf replied.

"No, but your arrival has been much anticipated. I shall take your cart and horses if you wish."

"Thank you," Gandalf said kindly, but not with a smile. The elf took our cart and Gandalf beckoned for us to follow him to the huge white castle that I suspected held most of Mirkwood's population. We almost had to run to keep up with his long strides.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"We must get to the hall to gather at once, this is an urgent matter."

We followed Gandalf through a large gothic doorframe, whiter than snow, and down halls, passing elves who gave nods to Gandalf, him returning them.

"Ah!" Frodo exclaimed as he fell, trying to keep up with the wizard. Gandalf stopped at two large wooden doors while Sam was helping Frodo up.

"Now, you must understand. I have told you of our situation, of its danger and importance. Follow me, but stay silent. Do not utter a word unless I say so," Gandalf fixed his eyes upon Pippin the last words he had spoken. We all nodded, I grabbed Pippin's hand taking a deep breath as Gandalf pushed the large doors open.

We followed Gandalf through them, emerging into a room sort of like a balcony. There were no walls, however it seemed this space was located almost in the forest, for thick, green trees twisted together and around, creating a leafy enclosure. I glanced to my right and saw Pippin looking up, and I followed his gaze skywards to see a clear, blue sky above. There were about twenty seats around the circle, fifteen of them filled.

"Ah, Gandalf, we have been awaiting your arrival," a tall elf said, he was the only one (apart from us) standing. He had long golden-blonde hair, and was wearing a crown of Fall forest berries and leaves. His eyes were kind, however serious. But this was a serious meeting, and was reflected in everyone else's eyes in the room.

"Thranduil, thank you for your patience in my arrival."

Thranduil nodded, and his gaze travelled to where us four hobbits were standing. I could feel many pairs of eyes on me, and uncomfortably shifted my weight between feet.

"These four Halflings had stowed away on my journey, and when I had discovered them it was too late to turn back for as you know I came with as much haste as I could. I had hoped they could reside in Mirkwood and return to their home as soon as possible," Gandalf stated, his voice and eyes apologetic. But not for us, for Thranduil.

"Yes, the Halflings may reside here for the meantime."

"No," Frodo said bluntly. "No," this time louder.

"Frodo is right, we have as much cause to fight for the Shi- I mean Middle Earth as you do," Pippin piped up.

"Peregrin Took, close your mouth at once and listen to what I had told you!" Gandalf proclaimed loudly, anger and annoyance in his eyes.

"Pippin is right," I backed up.

"This is no fight for Hobbits," A man from across the room declared and stood up, only to sit back down again.

"It is their choice. Why should we keep their race out, if we have here all others? You may all take a seat," Thranduil said kindly.

"Thank you ever so much sir. I'm glad you see it that way," Sam thanked, bowing his head slightly as we made our way to the five empty seats. Gandalf's expression softened as I glanced up at him, mildly annoyed at his decision to keep is from coming, but more happy he relented.

Pippin's POV:

I hopped up onto my seat with between Merry and Sam.

"Now, we all know the threat of Saruman to Middle Earth, and have agreed it must be stopped at all costs. He is not to be taken lightly, even now his power is growing, and I suspect he has and will be gathering followers to assist him in his evil," Thranduil said, eyes following the circle, his gaze meeting everyone's in return.

"Those who are prepared to fight against this evil and take the treacherous journey, rise." Everyone stood up, some more slowly than others, however we were out of our seats first.

"Jurou, Erilan, Keinal, and Norathon; please take a seat." The four men who were most hesitant to rise, started to open their mouths in protest, but a harsh look from Thranduil sat them down.

"And you six, will be needed for your special abilities here." He motioned to the six on his right. I wanted to ask what their _special abilities _were, but thought better of it and kept my mouth closed.

"May I suggest that some stay in their homes for fortification? I am as willing to go as the next, however I cannot so easily leave my city unprotected," A dwarf beside Gandalf suggested.

"A wise proposal Ganandark," Thranduil agreed. "You Taro, Yuu, Etsonaou, and Shuo will return home as protection if that is acceptable. Each area and race will have suitable warning, for if there is any serious attack led by Saruman, we will send aid to you." The five men (not all necessarily human men) nodded and sat back down.

"I am ready for this task father," An elf who was also tall, with long blonde hair; although a different blonde than Thranduil's, and clear blue eyes stated.

"Yes, you will prove well on this journey, Legolas," Thranduil answered. I could see the resemblance between the father and son, it was extremely obvious.

"I believe we all are," A dwarf gruffly said from across the circle.

"But are you four?" A man with wavy hair that ended before his shoulders and grey eyes questioned skeptically, looking at Sam, Frodo, Merry and I.

"Of course," I declared, standing as tall as I could, not much compared to the tall man, but it put up a brave front all the same.

"These Hobbit's are true to their word, I believe," a man with wavy black-brown hair just past his shoulders justified. "They seem true to their word, and have as much fighting spirit in their eyes as any of us do." He paused then said in our direction, "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn."

"Thank you Aragorn, I am Pippin, this is Merry, Sam, and Frodo. We are Shire folk," I introduced.

"As you already know, I am Legolas," the elf followed.

"And I, Gimli." The dwarf who had spoken before piped up. He was about a hobbit's height, and bore a long read-orange beard.

"I am Boromir, son of Denethor!" The man who had insulted us from before added quickly, not willing to be forgotten.

"Yes, you nine make up the guild, fighting to wipe Saruman's evil ways out of Middle Earth."

"It is such a shame..." Gandalf started, his voice full of sadness. "I had trusted Saruman all my life, I never would have thought he would turn this wicked and power hungry."

"Nor did anyone else Gandalf. It is a shame indeed," Thranduil concurred. "Those leaving may leave for home as soon as they can, and the nine who make up the Guild against Saruman, shall stay at Mirkwood until preparations for your journey are in order. Six with significant powers, will reside in Mirkwood, with the exception of Gandalf."

We all slowly rose, the men returning home first, the special six conversing with Thranduil, and I gathered with Gandalf.

"I will show you to your guest rooms," Legolas offered with a smile; gesturing his hand to the door.

"So if Thranduil is your father, does that make you the prince of Mirkwood?" I asked curious.

"How did you know my father was in rule of Mirkwood?" He replied.

"I just guessed!"

"Well you are correct. I am the prince, but I do have brothers as well," Legolas relented, laughing at my easy discovery.

Soon three elves had come to show Boromir, Aragorn, and Gimli their rooms, and not long after we came to a long, white corridor.

"Gandalf, you may stay the large room at the end, and the two rooms to the left may be occupied by two hobbits each!" Legolas decided.

"Thank you, Merry and I will take this one," I say as I open the door to the first room and we all retreat to our rooms and bid each other a good night.

The room had two beds with a large window between them, and a small table in the corner. Even though the room is scarcely furnished, the snow white walls have beautiful, intricate carvings in them, making the room seem altogether cultured and elegant.

"I'm more tired than I realized!" I said with a yawn.

"Couldn't agree more Pip," Merry muttered tiredly as we crawled into the two beds. My eyelids felt heavy as I pulled up the covers; humming a tune, an old song about dreams from the Shire, my thoughts swirling with the danger ahead.

"We can make it," Merry said from his bead.

"Of course we can, we have each other," I smile, and let sleep take over.


	8. Chapter 8

Merry's POV:

I slowly opened my tired eyes and saw a clear light through the window. Then I look over to my left and see an empty bed where Pippin should have been.

"Pip?" I ask, wondering where he could have gotten to.

"Here I am!" Pippin yelled, popping up from the other side of my bed. I cried out in surprise and grabbed Pippin, pulling him into the bed, him laughing so hard tears were rolling down his cheeks. I ruffle his hair, and we roll around on the bed, trying to tackle each other.

"Okay okay you win!" he says as I end up sitting on top of him, arms crossed.

"Karma," I state jokingly, grinning playfully down at him. Pippin pauses for a while, then tickles me all of the sudden. I fall off him onto the bed, and laugh my head off.

"Plea...Pip!...help!...ahaha!" I say between breaths of laughter. He then stops, gazing into my eyes. I notice that this would be the perfect opportunity to get him back but instead I find us leaning towards each other. I sit up and wrap my arms around him, our lips meet and a tingle goes from my lips all the way down my spine. Before I know it my hands are tangled in his hair and I push him down onto the bed. He flips over, putting me on the bottom and says-

"I will always stay with you, no matter how dangerous and difficult the road may get."

"Good, cuz I couldn't survive without you near me," I reply, staring into his beautiful green eyes. We kiss gently and lovingly, and he lets me up; still kissing. We part and hug tightly, maybe some would think hugging is less passionate then kissing, but for us it was still close and loving; I never wanted to let go of Pippin.

Pippin's POV:

We heard a knock on the door and I quickly hopped to my feet and ran to the doorway, looking behind me before I answered to see Merry hide his face, for it displayed a slight pink blush.

"You may put these on and when you have finished, I am to lead you to the others." A beautiful elf girl smiled kindly as she handed me two bundles of neatly folded clothing. I thanked her and closed the door. I threw one of the piles to Merry and we quickly threw on the clothes. I looked at Merry to see him in a long cape-like shirt, with a longer sleeve tan shirt with puffed sleeves beneath. His pants were a dark green, and his feet bare as Hobbit's were used to. I looked down at myself and saw my outfit mirrored his. The fabric felt soft, yet sturdy.

We both got the door and followed the elf girl down the hall and to a large room with many windows and no furniture.

"Ah, I hope you rested well," Thranduil greeted us. I nod, smiling; still on high spirits from earlier. I look around to see the four men from yesterday, and our three friends. We walk over to meet Gandalf, Samwise, and Frodo, and turn to face Thranduil.

"We have come here to bestow items for your journey, and to assist anyone if necessary."

Elves entered the room at these words, handing each of us bundles of clothing. I unfolded mine to find a thick green cape, and a silver mail shirt.

"Those shirts are of the strongest material, however light to wear." Gandalf told me wisely. I looked around to see that my fellow hobbit's bundles mimicked mine. Many of the men were conversing with each other, might as well if you are going to be with them for a while now. So I grabbed Merry and headed over to talk with Legolas, who we had briefly met last night.

"Why hello Pippin, Merry." Legolas smiled at us. I was surprised that he remembered our names; I guess elves have a good memory.

Merry's POV:

"Hello Legolas! Are we to be training today?" I ask.

"Training? …I suppose you two would not be trained in combat. Summon your hobbit friends and come with me."

We called Sam and Frodo over, and trailed behind Legolas' long strides out of the room. He led us down many spiral staircases and long hallways; deeper and deeper until I guessed we were underground. We finally came to two metal doors, and when we followed Legolas into the room we saw a small forge. There was a large furnace, and multiple elves bustling about.

"We create weapons here. It is a small forge, for Elves have larger forges away from here, but we do have one for limited use here in Mirkwood."

"Ah Legolas!" An elf with long black hair, and green eyes greeted us. "And how may I be of service?"

"Four blades, light, but sharp."

"For the Halflings? I think we have the right ones."

He strode over to the fire, pulling out four short swords from a cylindrical, metal holder beside it.

"They were originally supposed to be long knives, but I believe they will do well for a Hobbit." He handed one to each of us. I put mine in the belt that came with our clothes this morning.

"Thank you," I reply, bowing my head slightly. He nods, and soon we are walking back up the stairs.

"I am sorry these weapons are all I can give you at the moment, for there is no time for training," Legolas said as we trudged back up the spiraling stairs.

"Thank you Master Legolas! They will still help a great deal!" Sam pipes up as we are making our way back to the rest of the group.

"You're quite welcome. You could not go on such a dangerous feat without a weapon," Legolas reasoned; not smiling as usual, however. He seemed to be deep in thought, his face looked troubled. I did not question it, for we were back with the others now, and I made my way over to Gandalf who was conversing with the man whom I remembered to be Aragorn.

"I see you have attained some blades," Aragorn nodded, looking as if he knew we were going to sooner or later.

"Allow me to introduce us, for we have not spoken before, nor at the gathering last night. I am Frodo, this is Sam, Pippin, and Merry." We nodded as Frodo introduced each of us.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." His voice was kind, though his face solemn.

"We must be going soon I believe," Gandalf informed us. I was taken aback, I had known the time was nearing but it all seemed to come so fast.

Pippin's POV:

As if on cue, Thranduil announced that we were all now prepared. We were each given packs that contained food supply, however not too large for we would be stopping at multiple towns along the way. We walked out of the room with our packs, heading for the back of the large castle.

"Are we to exit the back and through the woods so as not to be seen?" A dwarf asked.

"Yes Gimli, I believe so," Aragorn answered.

"I bid you good luck, and pray you stay strong. Farewell, and do not underestimate Saruman's power... and evil," Thranduil parted, patting Legolas on the shoulder before we all filed silently into the woods.

"We shall make due East, I will explain later plans when we camp," Gandalf informed us silently. I had a feeling we had missed something, possibly last night or when we had retrieved the weapons, but I was not worried for I trusted Gandalf to tell us what we needed to know. The forest on this side of Mirkwood was considerably thicker, with many more roots covering the ground. Soon we came to the river we had seen entering Mirkwood, and followed it Eastwards. Only soon after starting I tripped on a root, and scraped my hand. Merry helped me up and despite his worries I assured that I was fine.

We had been making our way through the forest for quite some time now, and the sky was darkening.

"I suppose we had better make camp," a man whom I had learned was called Boromir said. We all agreed and stopped for the night, setting up the temporary encampment.

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	9. Chapter 9

Merry's POV:

We had followed the words of Boromir and agreed to set up camp for the night. Our group had been making our way through the thick forest of Mirkwood all day. I was thankful to have Legolas with us, for he knew the right paths to make through the woods well.

It didn't take long to set up the small tents and get a fire going. We sat down by the fire and began to eat our meager supper.

"We must warn others of Saruman, for some do not know of his betrayal yet," Boromir spoke.

"Yes, a course that will take time to follow," Aragorn replied, looking deep in thought.

"Wont word travel fast?" I asked, wondering.

"Clever words!" The dwarf called Gimli said loudly.

"Hush, we should not speak of these matters so loudly, even in the forest of Mirkwood," Gandalf warned, Legolas nodding in agreement. "Come," Gandalf motioned for us to follow him away from the fire, and towards the tents; leaving the men to talk. "I shall tell you our plans, as I had promised," Gandalf told us in a hushed tone. "We are to warn all of Saruman's betrayal. Of course we cannot travel everywhere, but word will spread fast, and messengers from each city will be sent out. Saruman's power is growing, as is his army, each day. We are almost certain he will attack those who stand in his way. There will most likely be many battles," Gandalf paused, face sorrowful. "Isengard is where he remains currently and where his army is created. Not only does he have traitors of human kind, but an army of Orcs, growing fast. We hope some cities will fight against Isengard, fight to bring it down. However if not… I will not speak of this now; for the time being this is all you need to know." Pippin and I nodded.

"So when did this planning happen?" I ask suspiciously.

"None could rest last night, knowing the danger ahead. We all gathered and discussed this for a while. You two were sound asleep and I need not had woken you. Frodo and Sam had been sleeping as well, as Hobbits would, but were awoken earlier than you two and were informed soon before you came this morning."

"I see…" I was a little frustrated that they had left us sleeping; but I figured I would have been frustrated if they had disturbed our rest as well; so I let it go.

"Come now, morning will arrive soon; we must rest."

The next morning we wasted no time getting up and going. After (to Pippins dismay) another meager breakfast, they quickly packed and set out again. I didn't take long for us to leave the tangle of trees that was the forest of Mirkwood behind. Us Hobbits stretched, happy to be in a brighter, open space. The landscape was grassy with low hills, nice to walk on for our bare Hobbit feet.

After a short time making our way through the hills, a large smudge in the sky was to be seen in the distance.

"What is that?" Frodo asked.

Legolas gazed upon the growing smudge with his extraordinary elf vision for a moment before shouting "Get down, take cover!" We all scrambled around; trying to find decent cover. They found a small group of bushes and all squeezed inside the cover of the thick shrubs.

I looked to my left to see Pippin looking skywards through the hedge and I followed his gaze, peeking up through the brush to see a large bird circling ahead. It was larger in size than Boromir; the tallest one in their group. It circled three times before passing on, turning right and away from us when reaching the forest borders. Pippin and I let out breaths of relief and slowly crawled out from under the cover of the bushes.

"Wh-what was that?" Samwise stuttered, timid from the close encounter.

"That was a spy of Saruman," Aragorn replied; looking skywards.

"The bird?" Frodo questioned. Aragorn nodded.

"His spies come in many forms. We must be careful."

"If I may suggest, I believe we should get out of this open field then," said Gimli.

"There is a rocky terrain to the left of the forest," Legolas said. "It would provide good cover, although may be more difficult to travel on." He looked at others as he said this; seeming as if it would still be just as easy for him. Which it probably would, I guessed, for the elf was constantly agile. We all agreed it would be best, so turned east; heading towards the mountainous terrain.

Legolas was right, the rocks did provide good cover; however hard to travel on. We were constantly making our way over boulders and sharp rocks. Every time I heard a sound my hand leapt to the hilt of my small sword; tensing, my head whipping back and forth looking for any sign of one of Saruman's hidden spies.

Pippin's POV:

The day was long and hard traveling. We all had multiple scrapes and cuts from all the rocks and my feet were extremely sore as well. We had set up a small fire in a shallow cave and were gladly resting our feet before a short sleep.

"So you think that bird saw us?" I hear Samwise ask Aragorn.

"We should hope not. But I do not believe it did," Aragorn replied. Sam let out a breath of relief and turned to continue talking with Frodo.

"Come on Pip, if we sleep now we can get in more rest before tomorrow," Merry suggested. I nod and follow him over to the edge of the tiny cave and clear away some loose rocks. Merry and I each took out our warm blankets given to us by Thranduil and gladly nestled under them; falling asleep almost instantly, tired from the climb.

The blankets were warm; but not warm enough. The cold air blew in and chased away all the warmth in me. It was the middle of the night, and i had woken up, the cold to unbearable for me to fall back asleep. I shivered, and pressed closer to Merry. Thankfully, I warmed up fast and could feel his sleeping body heating up as well. My eyelids became heavy, i was on the edge of sleep when cold hand covered my mouth; stifling a yell.

"Pip?" Merry asked quietly, before being pulled from the ground as well. I bit the hand that covered my mouth, seeing Merry struggle in the figure's tight grasp. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my arm; followed by one in my head. The last thing I was aware of was being dragged out of the cave; a warm liquid trickling down my forehead.

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	10. Chapter 10

Pippins POV:

I groggily opened my eyes to see a pair of Orcs bustling around a fire; just putting it out from where I could see around their large figures. I turned my head to see Merry looked the same as me; beat up, mouth tied, and dirty; although he was unconscious. Was he badly hurt? I prayed not, if only I could get loose and help him... wait! Merry slowly opened one eye, then the other. They widened as he looked at me and my state, full of concern and fear.

"Halflings are awake!" An Orc proclaimed gruffly as he turned to see us tied on the ground; eyes open. The other Orc nodded and packed up the rest of what looked like a temporary camp site.

"Are you prepared to leave yet?" A tall, old man with a pointed hat and long brown cloak asked impatiently; emerging from the forest. Another Orc trailed behind him, following his footsteps and stopping behind him.

"Yes Radagast," The Orc who had noticed Merry and I had woken replied obediently.

"I see the Halflings have woken!" Radagast noticed. I glared at the man, hatred in my eyes. "Saruman will be pleased. Now take of their gags; for I wish to speak with them," The Orc who had arrived with Radagast walked over to us with heavy footfalls and removed the rags that bound our mouths.

"Who are you?" Merry asked angrily as soon as his gag was removed.

"Radagast the Brown; servant of Saruman, wielder of Magic," He pronounced, sounding rather proud.

"A Wizard," I whispered, loud enough for only Merry to hear.

"But you do not ask the questions. So tell me, why are two Hobbits out on such terrain most likely far from their home?" He asked, voice questioning and cruel. I did not answer, nor did Merry.

"I did not think you would cooperate." He nodded his head slightly at the three Orcs and they dragged us to face Radagast. I sat up and stared coldly into the wizard's eyes; determined not to tell him even one word of information. "I will ask another question; I suggest you answer for if not, the consequences will not be pleasant." He paused; staring down at us coldly. "Tell me, what course do your companions make for?" Merry and I still did not speak.

Merry's POV:

After Radagast realized we would not answer still; he ordered an Orc to take Pippin. The creature roughly grabbed Pippin's arm; pulling him to his feet. He then punched him hard in the gut, and forced his head up roughly to look back up into Radagast's stare.

"PIPPIN!" I yelled furiously, but before I could try to do anything my mouth was tied over with the rag again; muffling my screams.

"Still don't know?" the wizard asked maliciously before muttering words in a tongue I did not understand; closing his eyes as he spoke them, but snapped them back open and glared at Pippin for the last word. Pippin's eyes dazed over and he fell to the ground; mouth hanging open. I screamed for him through the gag; tears leaking down my face.

"Very well." Radagast snapped his fingers and Pippin retuned consciousness. He was still for a second, but soon tears streamed down his face and he was pushed over to me. "You _will_ talk. Now come." He motioned for the Orcs to grab the bags, then muttered some more words I again did not know the meaning of. Shortly after two large wolf creatures came running from the surrounding woods. They were much larger than normal wolves; and more muscular as well; their ears pressed back against their heads. Radagast, it seemed, had control over these creatures as he said more of the unknown tongue in an ordering tone and the wolves stalked towards us; stopping right in front of our feet. I looked down to see sharp, curved claws perturbing from their paws and I gulped, thinking about how I wouldn't make them mad at me on this trip if I could help it. I was still thinking about this when the Orcs lifted us onto their backs; and tied us to them, back facing down.

We set off; us tied down to the wolves, Orcs carrying many bags, and Radagast in the lead. We passed endless trees, but eventually the woods thinned and showed terrain much like the one Pippin and I had been traveling on with Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Gimli, and Boromir.

"Yes; we have not lost track of your companions," Radagast informed us when the ground started to turn rocky; a smug, evil smile on his face.

The sky had turned black, free of stars, when we finally stopped for the night. Where were we going anyways? Pippin and I were put in a small cave; the entrance sealed by boulders and guarding Orcs. A small portion of food was given to us and our binds were removed. We were not to scream; for pain would be punished upon us; so we sat in the darkness, whispering softly.

"What happened Pip?" I ask as soon as we are shoved into the dark cave. Pippin nibbled on the meager bread and then burst into tears. I held him tightly and stroked his curls, kissing the top of his head.

"He used some sort of magic or something..." Pippin finally said when he had stopped crying." I went cold all over, and inside. I saw... I saw the Shire. It was burning. Then you appeared, you were falling into darkness and I couldn't reach for you. Then I saw everyone we had been traveling with before, all dead, lying on the ground. Next thing I knew I was awoken back into the real world; free of his spell," Pippin said quietly. I could tell he was trying to be brave, but the wicked visions were eating away at him inside.

"Pippin," I said softly, holding his hand. "I know you are brave, but it's okay to be scared or miserable after that. And it was only a figment created by Radagast to scare you, so don't worry. I'm here and everyone else and the Shire are not truly harmed."

Pippin's POV:

I nodded, and leaned closer to Merry, letting him wrap his arms around me. We kissed slowly, and I savored the moment. I knew that I couldn't live without him by my side.

"I love you Merry... stay with me no matter what happens on our dangerous road," I whispered.

"I love you too Pip, and you know nobody or nothing could separate us," Merry grinned, despite the gloomy atmosphere; causing a smile to form on my lips as well. "Remember what you said that night in Mirkwood? _We can make it Merry._" I nodded, and laid down on the cold stone floor of the cave. Merry joined me, and I tenderly wrapped my arms around him, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

I woke with a start, shivering; not only from the cold cave but from the nightmare. More frightening images similar to the ones produced by Radagast had formed in my mind during a troubled sleep last night. I shook my head, as if to rid it of the nightmare.

A pale light shined in through the cracks of the barricaded cave door, early morning sun brightening the cave with a dim light. I felt a movement beside me, and looked down to see Merry; eyes slowly opening.

"Hello Pip," he greeted, still half asleep.

"Morning Merry," I replied cheerfully before I hoped up to my feet and headed towards the tiny rays of sunshine.

"I envy you Pip, you have no _in between_ state," Merry muttered sleepily before he lied back down and rolled over.

"In between state?" I asked, confused.

"You're either awake or asleep."

"Unlike, you who is still sleeping right now you mean," I joked and winked over at a very tired Merry. "Come on." I offered my hand and helped him up, slightly stumbling back as he heaved himself of the floor.We heard a screeching sound as the boulders that had been blocking the cave were pushed aside, and a muffled voice shouting commands from the other side of the stone barrier. As the rocks moved (by Radagast's Orcs) sunlight flooded the cave, causing Merry and I to squint, and I shielded my eyes with my hand. The Orcs wasted no time tying us up again, binding our hands behind our backs tightly with thick rope. And of course we had to be tied to the wolves again, it's not like we could get way with the Orcs watching us anyways.

Merry's POV:

The journey was much the same as before, the rocky terrain did not change and Radagast would occasionally threaten us, or rant on about how powerful Saruman was and how we were so meager compared to him. Pippin and I rolled our eyes often when no one was looking at these talks; for Radagast had a tendency to ramble on for a long time; simply repeating the same thing over and over in different wording. During these rants, thoughts of the rest of our friends filled my head. I wondered what they were doing now, and if they had any clue what happened to us. Just as I was thinking about them I saw a pair of eyes behind a nearby rock. The peculiar thing was when our stares met, they didn't pull away or try to hide. Radagast had claimed to be following the rest of the group; however now I wasn't so sure. Hope filled my chest and I prayed the eyes I had seen were ones I knew.

We broke our traveling so Radagast could eat; no food for us of course. Pippin glared with a scowl on his face as he watched the wizard leisurely eat his food. I had known the hobbit my whole life and one thing that made him angry was missing a meal.

"I will ask once more, tell me your companions' plans to stand up against the great Saruman," Radagast sneered, after finishing his lunch. Pippin and I stayed silent; although it was hard to keep my lips sealed when I remembered Pippin's face as he had been tortured by the Radagast before. "Must we go through this all again; eventually the pain will become too much to bear, even you are wise enough to know that. So just tell me now and save the suffering," he tried to convince. When he saw our stubbornness had not failed; his hand griped a sword at his belt; an evil look in his eye.

"I wouldn't be so quick to hurt them if I were you," a hooded figure said as it appeared behind Radagast, holding a long sword to his throat. The figure threw back its hood to reveal a tall man with wavy dark hair; and a familiar face.

"Aragorn!" Pippin and I shouted in unison. The ranger returned our smiles, but kept his blade close to Radagast's pale face. Suddenly the wolves beneath us buckled; collapsing on the ground. From behind me I felt my binds cut loose and I turned to see Legolas. I was so happy I hugged the elf, causing him to laugh.

"Hello again Merry," he smiled. I turned to see Pippin free, standing beside Sam and Frodo, along with the wolf with an arrow imbedded in its neck on the ground.

"Radagast, you have fallen under Saruman's shadow," the wizard I knew too well frowned as he emerged from the shadow of the rocks.

Radagast sneered at Gandalf, "He is more powerful than you could handle, you have no chance." At this Gandalf's frown deepened, and a sadness grew in his eyes. He nodded at Aragorn, who then knocked Radagast out with a large rock; blood seeping from the wizard's head.

Gandalf stooped over the crumpled wizard's figure. "I hope you shall forgive me when you are free, old friend."

**Please give me your feedback and I hope you are enjoying the story so far ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11

Merry's POV:

"Well what now?" I hear Pippin ask from beside me. Everyone's heads turn to look at him, Gandalf looks like he is resisting the urge to face palm and Gimli lets out an annoyed huff. I simply laugh at Pippin's blunt curiosity.

"Now, we set up camp," Aragorn replied, gazing up at the sky.

"But it is only noon!" Boromir exclaimed.

"No doubt the hobbit's journey has been a hard one, and there is much explaining to be done," Gandalf said. "We set up camp."

The day was warm enough, with almost no wind, so a fire was not needed. Our group of nine sat, for the most part, in a circle, covered by a nearby cave we had found. Radagast was tied up in the back of the shallow cave.

"What will happen when he wakes up?" Pippin asked, motioning to the bound figure on the ground.

"I have rid him of Saruman," Gandalf told him. "Radagast's mind was controlled by the evil wizard, but no longer. He is free as he once was." Neither Pippin nor I asked how Gandalf had freed him for when we were finding the cave, Gandalf requested to be left alone with the unconscious Radagast and a deal of shouting was heard from where the rest of us had left him. After we found the cave, Legolas returned to Gandalf and with Boromir's help, bound and carried Radagast to the rest of us.

It was silent as we all ate our food; Pippin and I were given more to return our strength. I insisted that I was mostly fine, as did Pippin but I could still see the pain in his eyes when we told our story.

"Radagast showed me…" Pippin started to tell of his torture, as we recapped the events of our capture with the rest of the company. "He showed me images, frightening images that…" Pippin trailed off again and I wrapped my fingers around his and moved closer to him.

"He tortured Pippin with frightful images, the Orcs beat him," I took a deep breath and squeezed Pippin's hand tighter at these words. "We travelled farther, strapped to large wolf-like creatures and when we halted he trapped us in a cave for the night." I continued on explaining, Pippin cutting in for some parts, until our whole story was known to the others.

Pippin's POV:

Once we finished, Gandalf sat back and silently took a puff of his pipe.

"It looks like Saruman knows more than we had thought…" Gimli said, breaking the silence.

"True, and maybe even more. It's not likely he told Radagast everything," added Aragorn.

"But do you think he knows where we are?" Frodo worried eyes wide.

"I do not think so, but I will keep a close watch about our surroundings just in case," Legolas comforted the hobbit. Frodo looked slightly less pale now and nodded as if to reassure himself.

"What do you think Gandalf?" Samwise asked from his place beside Frodo. The wizard had not spoken still, and took another thoughtful puff of his pipe before answering.

"I think we best be extremely cautious," Gandalf slowly started. "Saruman does not know out definite course, so we should be fairly safe. All the same it is best we sleep in shifts, taking turn watching camp." We all nodded in agreement, I was not listening too closely, for I was too focused on the fact that Gandalf was smoking, and from the smell of it, Pipeweed. I nudged Merry softly in the ribs and nodded my head towards the wizard and his pipe. Merry's eyes widened slightly in recognition. We turned to face each other, and reflected on both our faces was a mischievous grin we both knew too well.

…

"I will take the first watch tonight," Aragorn said as we took out our blankets. The sky was now dark and stars were starting to faintly shine in the sky, No one protested so we all climbed under our blankets and slowly drifted off to sleep. Everyone of course, but Merry and I; between the time of our recount of our time with Radagast and now, Merry and I had went aside to discuss our plan. Now, we inched closer under our blankets and whispered in hushed voices.

"So do you think Aragorn will notice?" I asked Merry.

"Hmm… maybe we should offer to watch next," I suggest.

"He will suspect something. We are the ones who should be resting anyways," he contradicted. For a while we were silent, both lost in thought. "Just say you were having nightmares, so didn't want to sleep." I nodded excitedly at this idea.

"Aragorn has been watching for almost an hour, soon we can switch," Merry nodded back and lay down, smiling before closing his eyes. I did the same, but neither of us actually fell asleep; we couldn't even if we wanted to. I hadn't had pipeweed since we left the Shire, and neither had Merry; it was about time for a good smoke.

After a little while of waiting that seemed like forever, Merry and I approached Aragorn. "Aragorn?" I asked quietly.

"Pippin, what are you doing up?" He questioned, eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"I was…" I paused and quickly glanced at Merry beside me before I continued. "I was having nightmares. I can't sleep now, so I figured I might as well take a turn watching camp." Aragorn stared at me for a while, then nodded and left us to go sleep.

As soon as we heard the soft, slow breathing of a now sleeping Aragorn, Merry and I exchanged triumphant grins.

"Great, now we are alone; but how are we supposed to get the pipeweed from Gandalf?" I ask Merry.

"Oh… hadn't thought of that," Merry said, face falling into a puzzled expression. "Well we have to find where he keeps it first and we'll just go from there," he procrastinated. So we crept over to where Gandalf was sleeping; beside him was a small cloth bag.

Merry's POV:

Pippin leaned closer to the little bag and took a small whiff of its contents.

"That's it, that's it Merry!" he whispered excitedly. I lay a finger to my lips, and sneakily snatched the bag from beside the wizard. Pippin practically skipped as we crept away from Gandalf and closer to the front of the small cave. I untied the string around the pouch and inhaled the wonderful scent, handing it to Pippin so he could do the same. "From the South Farthing, the sneaky old devil. Must have stocked up when he left us in the Shire before the bonfire," Pippin said, hushed so as not to wake the others.

"Do you even have a pipe Pip?" I ask, and Pippin pulls two pipes out of his vest pocket.

"Always come prepared," he states triumphantly.

I snorted in disbelief. "When it comes to drinking and smoking, otherwise your about as useful as an angry Sackville-Baggins!"

"Sackville-Baggins? I'm a Took to the core and don't you imply anything else Meriadoc," Pippin defended, planting his hands on his hips.

"You sure about that Pip? I mean Tooks are known to be adventurous, and you're such a respectable Hobbit," I tease, knowing full well Pippin acted in every way like a Took. Pippin saw through my teasing and couldn't help but laugh a little. We were cut off by the sound of Gimli mumbling in his sleep. We held our breaths until he was silent again, then exhaled in relief.

"Well, let's not just stand here in the cold then!"

…

"Pi…Pippin," I stutter through the haze of pipeweed that clouded my mind.

"Yes, my fine Merry?" Pippin replies, taking another puff of his pipe. I don't say anything but lean closer and plant a kiss on his lips. Pippin smiles, and hugs me letting out a tiny laugh. "My Merry…" he says, causing me to smile. My Merry, I liked that line very much.

"So Pip? I don't see how Saruman is soooo… dangerous,"

"Neither do I, but I don't want to think about him right now," Pippin replies, and I nod in agreement.

"What would you rather do?" I ask, loading my pipe up with some more leaf from the stolen sac. Pippin smiles goofily and wraps his arms around my neck, pushing me down on my back as he straddles his legs over my hips. I lean up slightly to kiss him, running my tongue along his teeth. He lets me enter and we lock in a passionate kiss as I run my hands through his curls. I start to undo his pants, but something roughly pulls him off of me. I grunt as the collar of my shirt is grabbed, hoisting me to my feet.

"I should have known better than to leave that bag out in the open with you two around," Gandalf says, gripping the hood of Pippin's cloak.

"Stealin' pipeweed in the middle of the night, and…" a voice from behind me says, Gimli. He trails off and looks at us with almost a look of disgust. I feel my face flush as I think of the position Pippin and I were in when they found us.

"Do you want some Gimli?" Pippin offers, earning a tug of his hood from Gandalf. I roll my eyes, and struggle a little in Gimli's hold. The dwarf lets go, and snatches up the bag from the ground. Stumbling over to Pippin, I take his hand as Gandalf lets him go and retrieves the sac from Gimli. Gandalf opens his mouth to scold us, but stops as a mumbling sound, followed by struggling, is heard from the back of the cave.

**Thank you to Meroochocolate and Strawbaby Chick for reviewing! They make me happy ^_^ Reviews with your opinions on the sotry so far and such would be much appreciated!**


	12. Chapter 12

Pippin's POV:

"Gandalf...?" I whispered. Gandalf ignored me, and instead released his hold on Merry's hood. Gandalf's staff made an echoing click throughout the cave's walls as he slowly walked towards the sound. "Umm... Gimli?" I whispered again, glancing up at the Dwarf who had not yet let go.

"Oh, sorry laddie," he mumbled and releases me. And of course being as curious as I am, I found myself following Gandalf's footsteps; then I heard more footsteps behind me following my own.

I stood slightly behind Gandalf, I didn't care if Radagast was "free" now; he still kidnapped, and hurt, Merry and I.

"Gandalf..." a harsh, rasp voice leaked silently out of the bound figure as his eyes opened to see Gandalf towering over him. The two wizards smiled at each other, an old familiar smile and an old familiar look in their eyes to match. I felt a ruffle of fabric as a figure brushed against me. I jumped, looking up to see Legolas staring sternly at the wizard on the cave floor. I almost let out a squeak as I jumped again, from _Merry_ jumping beside _me_! I let out a small_ hmph_ and straightened up, rubbing the goosebumps on my arms.

"Sorry, did I scare you Merry?" Boromir chuckled quietly from beside Merry.

"Pip jumped too!" Merry quickly shot back, earning a punch in the arm from me. Boromir simply shook his head and laughed softly again; then turned his attention back to Radagast.

"Aragorn, untie his bindings," Gandalf ordered the ranger as he motioned to Radagast. Aragorn nodded and knelt down to free the wizard.

"Wait..." Boromir put up his hand in front of him, "How can we be sure he is safe?" The Gondorian's eyes never left Radagast as he said this.

"Trust me, Boromir," Gandalf laid a hand on Boromir's shoulder. "I know he is free of Saruman. I felt it when I got rid of that traitor inside his mind before," Slowly and hesitantly Boromir nodded, meeting Gandalf's kind gaze. But as Aragorn freed Radagast, Boromir watched the wizard cautiously; his hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword.

"Aahhh," Radagast let out a sigh as he rose and stretched is long arms. Then turning to look at Merry and I he said, "Halflings, I deeply apologize for any harm I may have caused you. I do not remember all of my actions controlled by Saruman; but enough to know he was not kind to you." I wasn't sure how to respond, staring into Radagast's eyes I saw honesty and sorrow, but...

"You, or Saruman rather, hurt Pippin; used magic to torture his mind!" Merry burst, grasping my hand protectively.

"Merry!" I exclaimed, shooting him an accusing look.

"No no, your friend is right. Saruman controlled me to hurt him, but hurt he was none the less. Please, I know I cannot erase that painful memory, but I can offer you a gift along with my condolences," Radagast offered, and held his hands out; palms facing us as if showing he was not dangerous and truly felt terrible.

"A gift?" (It is a gift! XD sorry inside joke. continue on with the story...) Merry and I said in unison.

"Anything?" Merry inquired, raising one eyebrow. Radagast nodded, causing a wicked, mischievous grin out of Merry and I. When I glanced sideways at him, I could tell it was one of those moments when we were thinking the exact same thing.

"Oh no..." A voice came from the left of the cave; Frodo. He has known us long enough to understand exactly the glint in our eyes, the kind that usually gets us into trouble. "They are both thinking of something, a same something, that will not end up well for any of us," he stated a-matter-of-factly.

"Nevermind him," I said, even though I knew full well that he was right.

"So what was it that you wanted?" Not Radagast, but Legolas, asked.

Merry and I exchanged one more look before replying in unison: "Pipeweed?" Gimli let out a sigh and facepalmed, whilst Legolas looked shocked, Aragorn and Boromir amused, Frodo like he knew this would happen, Gandalf like a mix between Frodo and Gimli's expressions, and Radagast simply laughed.

"I can see why you spent so much time in the Shire, Gandalf, Halflings truly are a lively folk! A nice change for an old wizard. Pipeweed, then? Alright, I believe I actually do have some on me." He reached into his long draping robes to pull out a sack very similar to Gandalf's, except Radagast's was made of earthy green-brown tones.

"You might not want to give them the whole bag," Sam, who had just woken up, warned from beside Frodo. Merry and I both shot them a 'NOT HELPING!' look.

"Maybe you're right," Radagast started.

"He is right," Gandalf cut in. Merry and I sighed loudly, throwing our heads back in drama.

Radagast chucklesdat Gandalf's blunt statement before continuing. "But I did offer them whatever they wanted, so..." He held out the bag towards us.

Merry's POV:

"Yes!" Pippin and I high fived before thanking Radagast and taking the small sack. I could have sworn that I briefly caught a jealous glint in Gimli's eyes; I might have considered maybe sharing some with him but since he stopped our _fun _before, I just smirked at him.

"You must be hungry Radagast, food and water will be in order," Gandalf said, changing the subject.

"It would be much appreciated," Radagast admited.

"Can I have some too?" Pippin piped up. Gandalf gave him a stern look before walking off to get some food for Radagast.

"Auh," Pippin huffed and walked over to the cave wall, sitting down and leaning against the stone; soon joined by me.

"Hungry?" Legolas asked after about five minutes of Sam and Frodo talking, Gandalf and Radagast talking, Boromir and Aragorn talking, Gimli making the occasional comment to the Elf, and us sitting down bored out of our minds. Pippin and I nodded frantically, a Hobbit is never **not **hungry! The blonde Elf smiled and pulled out a wafer of a bread-pastry like food, split it in two, and handed each of us a piece.

"Lembas," Legolas clarified when Pippin and I looked at the food in confusion. "One bite is enough to fill a grown man; it should satisfy your stomachs." I took a bite out of the Elvish bread and my expression turned from one of hesitation to one of shock and awe. The tiny wafer was so good!

"Lembas?" Pippin was wearing the same expression as me as he said this. "How come I have never heard of it before now?"

"An Elvish waybread, it wouldn't be common in the Shire," Legolas answered, lightly laughing at our fascination with the Elvish bread. Shrugging, I took another bite out of the lembas.

"Pippin!" I exclaimed as I look over to see that after I had only taken two bites, Pippin had already finished his.

"What? I said I was hungry."

"You always say you're hungry."


	13. Chapter 13

Merry's POV:

Pippin simply shrugged in response and tried to make a grab for my piece of lembas. I quickly jumped up and held it out of his reach, smirking. Naturally, between us this had now become a game; Pippin jumped, grabbing for it again, and once more I dodged. We were both laughing our heads off as we ran through the cave, Pippin trailing behind me.

"Shield!" I cried, ducking behind Boromir.

"I'm not a shield! Use this instead, I'm not standing in between Pippin and food," Boromir exclaimed and handed me his large, circular shield he always carried around. Pippin laughed at my desertation and the fact that Boromir said that in such a serious tone.

"This thing is almost as big as me and probably weighs even more!" I exclaimed, grunting under the weight of the shield. Giving up all hope of this awkward item being useful I dropped it to the ground with a clatter and ran to find someone else to hide behind.

"Gandalf! Radagast! Use your magic on him!" I cried, running past the two wizards who were conversing by the front of the cave.

"No fair! Magic is against the rules!" Pippin argued, still mustering up enough energy to chase me. A laugh echoed of the cave walls, coming from Legolas who then muttered something about us being full grown children. Radagast laughed at my exclamation whilst Gandalf simply ignored it as if it is a common occurrence; which, around us, it was.

"Eat your lembas and get ready to continue on," Gimli grumbled from the back of the cave beside Legolas. I pondered this for a second, then broke my elven bread in half and tossed a piece to Pippin. I caught Radagast smiling at this action. _He probably expected me just to eat it after all that commotion; he'll learn after being around Pippin and I longer. _I thought.

…

"I'm hungry and we're running out of food," Pippin whispered to me as we trudged along in a line; Gandalf leading, followed by Aragorn, then Boromir, Legolas, Frodo and Sam, Pippin and I, and finally Gimli.

"They did say we would stop along the way somewhere when we left from Mirkwood," I reasoned.

""We did, and we will be," Legolas replied, having heard us with his sensitive Elf ears.

"Where?" Pippin asked, sounding exhausted and hopeful at the same time.

"Rohan," this time it was Aragorn to answer. "We are close and they might be interested to know of Saruman's threat if they don't already."

"Théoden King sits on throne of Rohan in Edoras, I have met him before and I believe you have as well, Gandalf," Boromir spoke up, hoisting his pack higher on his shoulders.

"Yes, I have visited many times…" Gandalf seemed to drift off in thought for a few seconds before he answered. "We should be welcome there."

"How far is Rohan?" Pippin asked, my stomach giving a moaning rumble in agreement.

"Close, we should be there before nightfall," Aragorn answered. _Wait… how long have they planned to go to Rohan? Were we headed there all along? _

"Why are we always left out of these decisions?" I voiced my thoughts.

"You were recovering, we let you rest while we discussed it further. We had planned to stop there all along, but it was never definite until yesterday," Frodo said.

Pippin's POV:

"Even you two!" I exclaimed at Frodo and Sam, though it's not like I would have paid attention in these discussions anyways. I let out a sigh and trudged along, trying my best to ignore the empty pang in my stomach.

Hours passed and the terrain changed little, Mountains could be seen close by and tiny stones took over the dirt path we were walking on. Even though I was a hobbit and had extremely tough feet, they were starting to hurt from hours of walking along the sharp, rocky ground. Just when I was thinking that Rohan wasn't as close as they said it was, I spotted green and yellow mingling on the horizon. The faraway promise of grass to walk on kept me walking without complaint; I just hoped we would get there soon.

Another hour passed before we reached the grassy fields before Edoras; Rohan's capital.

"Finally," I heard Merry whisper from beside me; hands behind his head and face lifted, smiling with closed eyes toward the sun. Both of us were glad to have soft ground to walk on, and I think everyone else was too. All the members of our group stepped lighter and with more energy, all of us hobbits humming different tunes.

"Oh, you can search far and wide," Merry sang when he recognized the song I had been humming.

"You can drink the whole town dry," I continued.

"But you'll never find a beer so brown, but you'll never find a beer so brown."

"As the one we drink in our home town, as the one we drink in our home town." Both of us stomped our feet three times.

"You can drink your fancy ales."

"You can drink 'em by the flagon."

"But the only brew for the brave and true, comes from the green dragon!" We finished together, laughing and bowing for the rest of our fellow travellers who had turned their heads to watch us.

"I miss that old tavern," I smiled sadly, lost in thoughts of the Shire, the laughing hobbits and cheer that would surround you as soon as you stepped foot into the Green Dragon, the beer Merry and I had spent so much time drinking there and haven't found a better brew since. Merry seemed to be thinking the same thing because he smiled sentimentally over at me and took my hand. My thoughts drifted to our first kiss when he intertwined his fingers with mine, then to that night Samwise had walked in on us; causing me to laugh at the memory of his reaction. Merry opened his mouth to ask me something, probably what I was laughing at, but stopped when everyone in front of us halted and we were met with tall golden gates. Edoras…

**Thank you to hetaliaisawepic for favouriting!**


	14. Chapter 14

Merry's POV:

I shut my mouth as we were let in by the guards without question. I guess Gandalf and Boromir really had come here several times before. The gatekeepers did give us Hobbits peculiar looks as we passed by though; must have never really seen one so we looked odd or suspicious or something along those lines. I simply shrugged their stares off. The townspeople gave us similar looks, except for the children who seemed more fascinated than apprehensive.

"Pippin," I lightly nudged Pippin in the ribs and nodded towards a group of children who were playing ball but had stopped to stare at us. The smallest one broke the tension and timidly approached us, holding the ball in his hands. We stopped and Pippin took the round toy from the child's outstretched hands, throwing it in the air and kicking it back up as it fell back to the ground. He kicked it a few times, bounced it off his head, then caught it and handed it back to the now laughing and smiling children before hurrying back to catch up with the others. We turned from our place at the end of the line to and waved back at the few young Rohan citizens who were now being hurried away by their mothers.

"Where are we going?" Pippin and I asked Gimli, who was now in front of us, in unison.

"Théoden," he replied simply.

"Do we all get to see him?" Pippin asked again.

"I don't know," Gimli grumbled.

"Are we going to eat soon?" he questioned once more.

"I don't know!" he huffed, the dwarf's face turning slightly red, annoyed by Pippin's curiosity

"I hope so…" Pippin muttered. I gave a small smile; Pippin's questions never bothered me that much, rather they amused me.

"I'm sure we will Pip, don't worry," I whispered in his ear, causing a smile to form on his face. His walk turned to a sort of skip at the mention of food. Pippin fell back in mid skip into my arms, and I took a step back to sturdy myself as well. Everyone in front of us had stopped again and up in front of Aragorn stood tall golden doors. Pippin opened his mouth to ask another question, but I squeezed his hand, telling him not to in unspoken words. The gate guards spoke with Gandalf and Boromir for a moment, nodded, then opened the large golden doors for us to enter. I wasn't sure if we were all to enter, and hung back a bit. But Legolas waved his hand at me to signal that it was okay for us to come so we rushed to catch up before the doors were closed behind us.

"Théoden King," someone near to front of our line spoke and everyone bowed, Pippin and I quickly joining them.

"Welcome to Edoras," the king smiled. I decided that I liked Théoden; I just got a sense that he was a good person, but a strong ruler as well. Maybe it was folly of me to think this only moments after meeting him, but I decided to trust my gut. Pippin however, seemed to be unsure, for I could feel his hand tense in mine, then let go, but still standing close to me. "It is nice to see you in these halls again Boromir, son of Denethor, and as warm a welcome for you as well Gandalf the Grey," Théoden smiled once more from his golden throne.

Pippin's POV:  
I felt uncomfortable in these golden halls, even if we were welcome. It all seemed so official and intimidating to me, a Hobbit from the Shire.

"What brings you here?" Théoden asked.

"An urgent matter, one you will need to know if you do not already," Aragorn answered, his face solemn and serious. Théoden nodded for him to continue.

However it was Gandalf who explained; telling of Saruman's evil, power hunger, and growing armies.

"It is a wonder how he managed to hide his growing spite from us; Isengard is so close to Rohan..." The king muttered his thoughts aloud.

"I would not have known had I not been in the Order; although soon enough he would have to show his plans, however that soon may have been too late," Gandalf spoke.

"Increase the guard, notify our citizens but insure them that they are safe," Théoden ordered, causing many armored men to scatter about in different directions, looking much like little fish scattering when something is dropped in the water. "Rooms shall be prepared for your stay," he smiled at us. At these words, two women ran off out of the golden doors.

"With your permission uncle, I shall show them there," A man with shoulder length, fair strawberry blond, wavy hair spoke up; walking in long strides to meet our group. Théoden simply nodded and rose to go oversee the defense or something, I really had no clue nor cared; I felt more free to be myself once he was gone. I stared up at the man who was to show us to where we would be staying. He called the king _uncle_, so he must be Théoden's nephew. I could see the resemblance, however I didn't feel so tense and scared around him.

"I am Eomer, son of Eomund," he stated, meeting each of our gazes. His voice was stern, maybe even more so than his uncle's, but I still was not afraid or nervous; more fascinated. Boromir nodded when they met eyes; I guessed they had probably met before. Eomer waved his hand for us to follow and led us out of the golden hall.

The building was much like a small, low castle. It was made primarily of stone and wood, with arched windows along most rooms. As we walked through the corridors, following the two women that had left earlier, I couldn't help but notice the bare walls. Nothing adorned the stone hallways, however a few carvings embellished the endless wooden doorframes we passed. The maidens gave each of us our own room, all generally close to each other. Before she left, one of the maidens had informed us that we could wash up, and in an hour we would meet in the lower grand hall for a meal.

"Looks like we're neighbors, just like back in the Shire," Merry grinned, hand resting on the door of his room which, luckily, was right next to mine. I smiled back and headed in to explore. The room had stone walls and a wooden ceiling like the rest of the building, a large (or certainly large for me) bed, and a chair in the corner. The large rug took up most of the stone floor, and had strands of burgundy, dark green, grey, and gold weaved into the simple pattern. In the back left corner sat a grey basin with a bucket and a human-sized cloth beside it.

"A bath!" I thought aloud. Sure, it was a little out in the open, but I was just thankful to have one at all. The bath was already steaming, filled with hot water. I stripped off my dirty clothing and happily slipped into the tub. As I dunked my head and started to scrub the dirt off myself I began to hum a familiar song; the same song I had sang the day after the bonfire when I was bathing and Merry had slept over as usual. I let myself get caught up in thoughts of the Shire, and didn't hear the knock at the door.

"Pippin?" Merry called, walking in and shutting the door behind him. I woke from my daydreaming with a start, and shrunk lower into the water when I saw Merry, blushing furiously. "Oh.. sorry, I assumed you might have been sleeping when you didn't answer, I can go if..."

"It's alright," I stopped him. "I don't mind, I'm almost done anyways."

"Was your bath filled already?" Merry asked, avoiding my gaze and hoping up on the bed.

"Yes, wasn't yours?" He shook his head. "Well..." I took in his dirty condition, and bit my lip before continuing. "You could always use mine."

"But Pip," Merry let himself down off the bed and walked slowly over to the side of the basin. "You still have dirt all over you." He carefully brushed my cheek with his thumb, causing my cheeks to redden even more. I stared up into his hazel-brown eyes and moved over to make room. Merry smiled slightly and removed his worn clothes, slipping into the bath with me. I focused on only looking at his face, repeating that I must do so over and over again in my head. Merry and I had always been close, and certainly we had changed in the same room, but we hadn't bathed together since we were only small children.

He moved closer to me and I let my hands trail down his chest, lingering at his lower stomach, unsure. He leaned closer, forcing my hand lower. "I love you Pippin," he whispered.

Some say that the first kiss is the most magical, but every one I shared with Merry sent tingles down my spine and made my heart throb with love and happiness. I entangled my hands in his hair and his hand trailed down to where mine had been except reversed, leading me to pull him closer and deepen the kiss. "No, _I love you too Merry_?" he joked when we parted for air. I pulled him in for a kiss once more.

"I love you more than anything, you know that Merry," I smiled, leaning into his arms.

"I know, I just wanted to hear you say it again," he smiled down at me and planted one last kiss on my lips before rising and helping me up and out of the tub. We both looked at the towel for a second, shivering, before I picked it up and wrapped the oversized cloth around both of us. We shifted closer and let the warmth of the other keep the cold out, and the steady pounding of the other's heart lead our hands to grasp, a wordless promise never to let go.

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**Thank you to hetaliaisawepic, and Metoochocolate for reviewing! Please review ^^**


	15. Chapter 15

Merry's POV:

"Wait!" I halted in my tracks.

"What is it Merry? Make it quick, we're already late for dinner!" Pippin urged.

"I just realized, when did we last see Radagast?" I pondered.

"He was with us on the morning before we left for Rohan, but I don't remember seeing him after that."

"Exactly, so where is he now?"

"I don't know, maybe he had urgent wizard business to attend to."

"You don't think he went back to Saruman do you?" I asked warily. There was a long silence before Pippin replied firmly, "No, Gandalf trusts him so I trust him too." I thought about what he said for a second, then let out a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement. "Now come on, I'm starving," Pippin said and took off in a run down the halls.

"Wait for me!" I cried and chased after him.

Due to Pippin's rush to supper, we weren't the last ones there. When we burst in through the tall wooden doors that led to the dining hall we saw a long table decked with many platters, glasses, and plates. Everyone was at the table except for Gandalf, and of course Eomer, who was dining with the royal family.

We piled our plates high with food, hungrily devouring the meal.

"This is amazing!" Pippin exclaimed joyfully as he shoveled another bun into his mouth.

"It is, but it may help that we haven't eaten a proper meal in days," I contradicted, finishing my mug of ale. Pippin shrugged in response but still seemed enthralled in the meal.

"But if it's this good here, I wonder what they're eating at the castle?" Pippin fantasized.

"Why _aren't_ we staying at the castle? There must be plenty of rooms. I understand us Hobbits not staying there -personally I think it's more homey here- but why not Gandalf or Boromir; they're friends of Rohan," Frodo noted from beside me.

"I don't know, but I agree with you on staying here Frodo. It's so… intimidating at the castle, especially around Théoden," Pippin scowled, reaching for more food to fill up his plate for he third time.

"Watch your words Peregrin Took," Gandalf scolded, striding in to the hall. "Théoden is a powerful man, and one of good nature; I would not speak badly of him." Pippin shrunk in his chair in response, and although I agreed with Gandalf, I badly wanted to hug Pippin right now and wash away his fear, even if it is a small one.

Just then the large front doors could be heard opening from down the corridor, followed by footsteps headed in our direction. The doors swung open and Eomer walked in, followed by two other men.

"I am here to address you that we will help defeat Saruman," Eomer cut straight to the point.

Pippin's POV:

I was hoping they would want to help, with Isengard neighboring Rohan and all. Eomer took a seat and began to discuss battle strategies and means of Saruman's defeat with us; or rather, with everyone but us hobbits. We sat there and listened, but had no real contributions to give to the conversation, being completely inexperienced in battle. I tried to listen closely, but my mind strayed easily and I missed over half of the words said.

Aragorn seemed to notice this and while Eomer was talking with Legolas about weapons, he silently told Merry, Frodo, Sam and I that we could go if we wished and that he would tell us what we needed to know later. I thanked him gratefully and we took our leave.

But we had only walked to the end of the corridor when the men emptied from the eating hall. I let out a huff; I had been looking forward to finding a pub and a nice mug of ale.

"Come," Eomer met us quickly with his long strides. "We need to fit you for armor," his face showed the hint of a smile before he turned and strode down the hall. Merry, Sam, Frodo, and I ran to catch up with him.

"I don't suppose any of you have fought before?" Boromir questioned, having caught up with us easily. We all shook our heads. "Before we depart, I shall try and teach you what I can," he grinned reassuringly.

"Would you mind if I assisted?" Eomer asked, a hint of a smile peeking through on his usually solemn face again.

"The more help the better, I think the hobbits will need it," he chuckled.

"Hey!" Merry cried, giving him a light kick in the leg.

"Says who?" I exclaimed and latched on to Boromir's other leg. Merry followed my lead and grabbed on to the leg he had been kicking, and we both laughed as the Gondorian man trudged down the hall desperately. He would try and shake us off every now and again, but he made no progress so he just settled for dragging his hobbited (it's a verb, yes) legs down the halls.

We scrambled off him when we emerged onto the streets, followed by Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas.

"The armory is just ahead," Eomer pointed to a low, large building. A thin stack of smoke could be seen puffing from a cylindrical tube on the roof, and men were bustling in and out of the large open doors.

"Rhynnyn," Eomer greeted as we entered the armory. A tall man with hair similar to Eomer's, but shorter, stood up to greet us. "We will be needing armor for four Halflings, two Men, one Dwarf, and an Elf," Eomer motioned to each of us as he said this.

"Alright then, the elf and dwarf should be easy enough, and I think we may have some armor for very young men of Rohan, if you would follow me," Rhynnyn said with a smile and motioned for us to follow; however Eomer informed us that when we were done he would meet us outside.

…

We emerged donning silver breastplates, helmets, metal shin and arm pads, and silver-tipped boots; though us hobbit's told them we would not be needing these, for we preferred to go barefoot.

"Can we take these off soon?" I asked Boromir.

"No," he answered, confused. "We are to be leaving soon after you train."

"Today!" Frodo exclaimed. "I thought we would be staying here longer."

"Well let's use what time we have to prepare you," Boromir said as Eomer approached us.

"Agreed, the training area for young soldiers is just down the road," Eomer told us and we followed him to a walled dirt area with a small building nearby.

"But we don't have our swords," Sam muttered guiltily.

"I sent for them to be fetched while you were in the armory," Eomer handed each of us our swords, but not Boromir for he already had his, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were leaving us to train while they oversaw other preparations and other things that confused me.

"Okay, well we will be on horseback so the first thing I should teach you is simple, effective ways to kill a man, or possibly an Orc, in motion," Eomer decided, pulling out his sword. He swiped the blade in a few motions slowly, then faster as we got the hang of it. Boromir helped us with hand to hand combat after that, and then we just continued on practicing everything we had learned.

"It's been a while, all should be gathering to leave soon," Eomer said as he gazed up at the sun, shielding his eyes with the back of his hand.

Merry's POV:

We all nodded and followed Eomer out into the streets. I felt odd walking casually in my armor, but once I saw many other men around with the same attire, I relaxed; or as relaxed as I could be, knowing that soon I would be fighting for the first time in my life.

"Do you use horses in the Shire?" Eomer inquired as we headed to the stables.

I shook my head. "No, but we do use ponies; though I imagine the two, though similar, are very different."

"You are correct in assuming that," Eomer replied, glancing down at me briefly. "Though, we will try and find some of the more calm war horses for you Halflings to ride." I gave him a small grin in thanks, and decided I was wrong for having any mistrust in Eomer; he was Théoden's nephew after all.

The stables were long and crowded, with men bustling up and down the thin areas between the lines of doors that kept the horses in. Pippin and I stayed close to Boromir and Eomer, not particularly eager to be trampled.

"Follow me," Eomer waved us on and we ran to catch up with his long strides. He stopped in front of a stable and introduced the horse as Thrynallon, and told Frodo and Sam it was to be theirs. Us hobbits were riding two to a horse, we didn't mind. Our size was more practical for it, and it was almost safer; having two swords instead of just one.

"And this one here," Eomer laid his hand on the neighboring steed's head. "Will be yours." He opened the gate and helped us op onto the horses back.

"What's his name?" Pippin asked.

"_Her _name is Ellanya," Eomer corrected.

"Hello Ellanya, are you ready?" Pippin asked her, leaning forward and stroking her mane. Sitting on this war horse, decked in armor, really made me realize what we were doing. I was hit with the sudden realization that I was going to be fighting for my life, and others, and there was a high chance that I might die. And not only me, but others too; Boromir, Eomer, Sam, Frodo, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas… Pippin. Pippin caught my eye, and for a moment the same fear was reflected in his eyes, but it quickly passed and was replaced with a strong determination. Pippin, smiling and trying his hardest to be brave in the face of danger. I was confused about a lot of things at the moment, but I knew one thing; at the end of all things, we were in this together.

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**Please review with your opinions, it would really mean a lot to me! Thank you to all who are following so far and I hope you are enjoying it! **


	16. Chapter 16

Merry's POV:

I took Pippin's hand and held tight. He glanced over at me with a small grin, and I returned one as I squeezed his hand once more as if to say, _I won't leave your side, through all of this, I'll protect you. _

Eomer noticed, but did not say anything about it, instead speaking of the more urgent matters. "I have to prepare, may you stay strong and live another day," Eomer put a hand on each of our shoulders as he said this before disappearing into the crowd of men. Though his words were short, I could see in his eyes that they were important, words he said with his heart.

After Eomer was lost in the crowd, I turned to see Boromir ride out on his horse from the stable across from ours, trotting towards us.

"Stick close to me in battle," he told us. I met his eyes and let mine show my thanks before nodding.

"I have so many questions, but I'm afraid to know the answers," Pippin said loudly, so to be heard over the soldiers.

"Just remember what we taught you, and if you need assistance call for me," Boromir assured.

"Men!" Eomer's voice could be heard above the noise. "Ride to the front gates," he ordered and galloped off, leading the trail of mounted soldiers. We glanced at Boromir, then at Frodo and Sam, before following in the crowd of the Rohirrim_._ If I stretched up really tall could see the head of Aragorn up ahead and to his right, Legolas; I assumed Gimli was with Legolas, though I was too short to see him in the crowd.

Women and children lined the streets of Rohan as we passed through. Wives, sons, and daughters held their hands out to their fathers in hopes of their safe return.

Pippin's POV:

Men smiled at their families, hoping that this would not be their last encounter. I found myself wishing that my family were here to see me off as well. What I would give to see them one last time, even my annoying sisters seemed so much more precious to me now.

Merry seemed to be feeling the same, because when we met gazes, the same longing filled his eyes. I felt tears threatening to spill, thinking that I might never see them again; so I buried by face into Merry's back and held on to him. Two other horses, mounted with men, flanked our sides, hiding our affection from the townspeople.

"Men, we ride to Isengard, and it's defeat!" Eomer shouted from the front of the group. I released Merry and joined the men in their determined cries before holding on to Merry once more as the horse whinnied and bolted forward, threatening to throw me off.

The journey to Isengard did not take long and there were no need for breaks. We galloped along inside the crowd of Rohirrim, the only sound was the dull echoing sound of horses hoofs on grass. The whole way I couldn't stop my mind from buzzing with anticipation. I wanted to fight and didn't at the same time. My mind battled back and forth, I wanted to save the Shire, but I knew that there was a high chance that I might die trying.

It seemed as if any time had barely passed at all before we were standing in front of Isengard's stone wall, mounted and ready. An eerie silence surrounded us as we waited for Saruman to show his face. But no one came; no battle cries could be heard from the inside of Isengard, nothing came out to charge at us, and no elderly figure appeared on the balcony of the tower of Isen.

"Pip," Merry whispered, turning his head to stare into my eyes. "Remember the green rolling hills? The Brandywine's crisp cool water, the fools we made out of everyone with our jokes?" Merry laughed as he finished, lost in memory.

"I do, and I am determined to see it again," I replied firmly, earning a smile from Merry; I had responded the way he had hoped, I was ready.

"Saruman!" Eomer's cry echoed off the walls, rebounding into our ears and snapping our attention to the tower. "Will you show your face one last time before your defeat?" he cried, the men echoing him. On cue, and old figure loomed out of the shadows, emerging on the balcony.

"The defeat will fall on you, Eomer, son of Eomund," Saruman sneered from his perch, his robes billowing in the wind. I glared at the wizard; he probably had everything he wanted to make his life, but he still wanted more. I thought of Gandalf, kind, powerful, giving; it was hard to believe that the two were of the same order. _Saruman had been Gandalf's friend, hadn't he? Before… _A new rage filled my heart, entwining with my determination for the Shire, I became eager, resting my hand on the hilt of my sword.

Merry's POV:

"You shall regret those words, Saruman, for even your magic is no match for a whole army," Eomer responded, his voice showed no emotion as his face matched, keeping his calm mask. "Men! This treacherous wizard's greed has consumed him, his desire for power has overcome all that was good in him. It is our duty, to protect Middle Earth, and the city we call home!" his mask melted away as he shouted, raising his sword in the air. Cries of anger and determination erupted from all the men.

"Pretty speech, though words will do you no good," a new voice hissed, emerging from the shadows and standing behind Saruman.

"Radagast!" I cursed, and anger flared inside me. I stretched up to see Gandalf, waiting for his words to Radagast, his friend who had betrayed him. But the wizard said nothing, he simply stared up at the two wizards, his mouth set in a thin line.

"You could have been great Gandalf. Though your wisdom has failed you. Radagast saw the light, and the opportunity, he was wise to join me," Saruman almost smirked down at Gandalf.

"The only one who lacks wisdom among the order is you, Saruman," Gandalf stated. As soon as the words left his mouth, Radagast pointed his staff at Saruman, a bright ball of icy light erupting at his cry.

"Fool!" Saruman cried, whipping around and swiping his staff in front of him, blocking the spell. "Did you think I would be so easily defeated?" he sneered, shooting the same spell back at him, but Radagast stopped it, mirroring Saruman. "Did you assume I would be?" Saruman glared before raising his hand, levitating Radagast and sending him flying towards the balcony. I yelled, wishing I could do something, but Radagast flicked his wand and landed back behind Saruman.

"Fire!" Eomer cried, pausing the wizards' battle for a split second. Arrows soared towards the balcony, Radagast jumped behind a pillar as soon as the word left Eomer's lips, while Saruman deflected them the same way he had Radagast's spell.

"It's no use, his magic is to strong," Aragorn could be heard.

"We must attack from the inside," Gimli said loudly from behind Legolas. Eomer nodded.

"Break down the door!" he ordered. Men jumped off their horses and all together slammed themselves into the great wooden doors of the outer wall. It wasn't long before the doors opened, and the army rushed in. The barren land within the walls was eerily silent, the only sounds that could be heard were the far-off echoes of metal on metal coming from large holes in the ground.

"You are only walking into your doom," Saruman spit before casting yet another spell at Radagast. The wizards duel continued on, flashing lights being thrown back and forth, hands throwing each other back, staffs clocking attacks. All of the sudden, Orcs poured out of the holes, all wielding weapons. Eomer's horse reared and led the charge.

"FOR THE SHIRE!" Pippin and I cried, charging forward into the battle.

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_**Sorry for the kinda short chapter. Please review, they mean a lot to me ^^ Wow, I can't believe the story's almost done! If you would like to see a drawing of Pippin/Merry going into battle, tell me and I might be able to whip one up. Thanks to everyone who has followed it this far! Oh, and I will be going to camp for a week starting tomorrow, so no updates for a while**_


	17. Chapter 17

Pippin's POV:

Our cries mingled with those of the Rohirrim as we charged into the bloodbath, hundreds of raised swords gleaming like pinnacles of hope in the sun. Already dark Orc blood was spilled around corpses on the ground, many of them beheaded, as we hit the wave of Orcs. _Charge, swipe to the side, watch to your other side as well, block_. I went through the commands and moves we had learned in my head as two Orcs fell to the ground dead on either side of us; one my kill, one Merry's. Our horse trampled one more, but more and more came towards us. Already my rage and determination was slowly mingling with fear. Just as one ran towards us, sword raised, a familiar figure blocked it and sent its impaled corpse flying to the ground to be trampled.

"Thanks," I breathed, smiling slightly at the man, Boromir. He nodded and continued to fight beside us, slaying them as they came.

"Merry!" I cried as he let out a cry of pain as an Orc weapon sliced his side, finding the weak section of his armor. I grit my teeth and killed his attacker with a sideswipe of my sword from the blind side it's large helmet created.

"We're not getting anywhere," Merry said through tight teeth, his hand on his side. "There's just too many, more and more come just when the battle seems near end."

"I agree with you Halfling," Boromir grunted, killing one more Orc. "But what else can we do? We just have to fight."

"We are wasting time here, we need to get to Saruman, we need to get inside…" I reasoned. This was useless, if we could only find a way inside… it hit me! "We can help Merry! If we… I'll explain later, but we need to get past the crowd, around the mines," I exclaimed in a rush. Boromir did not question my actions, and instead nodded trustfully. The man began to charge, slaying Orc after Orc, creating a path through the battle. We followed close behind, urging our horse on as fast as we could.

"Pippin, Merry!" Eomer exclaimed in surprise as he saw us emerge beside him.

"I have a plan, trust me Eomer," I told him sternly, meeting his confused gaze before Merry pulled at Ellanya's reins, turning a sharp left and galloping towards the outer edges of the battle. I took a deep breath as we emerged from the battle, galloping away from the mess.

"What are you thinking of Pippin?" Merry questioned urgently, the gleam of curiosity clear in his eyes.

"I'm thinking…" it was just like old times. Scheming some new mischief, and for a split moment it felt as if it was just another plan to stir up trouble back in the Shire. "If we snuck though the underground, while the Orcs are out fighting, and through up into the tower of Isen…"

"Go on," he urged excitedly.

"Then we could open the doors from the inside," I finished.

"That's brilliant Pip!" Merry exclaimed, smiling for a split second before pained cries cut off our excitement in the plan. His face turned solemn before he spoke. "We better hurry."

Merry's POV:

We let Ellanya go, watching as she galloped back along the outer wall and near the woods.

"She'll make it back to Rohan," I assured Pippin before taking his hand and turning.

"Wait, Merry…" Pippin stopped, and I turned to face him. He said nothing but closed his eyes and leaned in, kissing me gently. I pulled him closer and held him tightly to me, deepening the kiss. I felt tears at the corners of his eyes as our faces pulled together, breaking the kiss, though our foreheads still touched.

"What if we never see the rolling green hills of the Shire again?" Pippin whispered, looking at the grey, dead ground of Isengard. I pulled him closer.

"Then we will know we have tried our best to save it, so it shall be safe," I replied firmly, kissing him once more before pulling apart. Pippin nodded firmly and took my hand, ready to go.

Without speaking, we ran as fast as our legs could carry us along the outer wall. We soon passed the main area of the battle and reached the back of the deep mines. We both hesitantly looked down into the holes, the deep red light coming from them illuminating our faces. I took a deep breath before releasing Pippin's hand and lowering myself onto one of the many ladders that led up to the surface. Pippin soon followed, pressing as close to the ladder as possible. Hesitantly I glanced behind me, scanning the area for Orcs. It seemed as if all of them were out fighting, for the area was eerily silent, save the echoes from the battle above.

Reaching the first level we stepped off onto the frail wooden ramp and walked across to the next ladder, continuing to descend.

"How far are we going to go?" Pippin whispered from above me.

"Until we see an exit," I responded in a hushed voice, stepping down onto the next level. I turned to see an Orc walking across the bridge towards us, his eyes red and a sword in hand. Pippin squeezed my hand from beside me before we both charged, our swords raised silently. The Orc stuck his out, but Pippin and I jumped to opposite sides, swiping the back of both of his legs, causing him to crumple and fall off the edge of the frail wooden bridge. We cringed as he hit each level, making loud echoing crashes throughout the underground. Suddenly, fresh footsteps mingled with the echoes of ones above. "RUN!" I cried, taking Pippin's hand and pulling him back to the ladder.

"No, we have to keep going!" Pippin cried, pulling me back into a run towards the other across the platform. I banished my fear from my mind, focusing on pippin's hand in mine, and then the steps beneath me. Reaching the next platform, we could see Orcs climbing the ladder across us, up to where we were. "There!" Pippin pointed, beside the ladder was a hole in the wall, seemingly dark and empty as it stretched on. We ran as fast as our legs could carry us towards the space we hoped was an exit. We finally reached it, and I took a running leap in, only to feel Pippin's hand being pulled form mine.

"PIPPIN!" I cried. An Orc had grabbed his leg from the ladder. Rage seethed through me as I brought my sword down on the Orc's hand, sending dark blood flying down. Grabbing Pippin's hand, I pulled him into the hole, and ran into the darkness.

"Merry, Merry…" Pippin called from behind me.

"Not now Pip we have to run!" I cried, pulling us faster.

"Just look!" he stopped, turning me to face the mines that we had come from. Orcs were standing outside of the entrance, glaring. One tried to come after us but got thrown back and off the edge as soon as he tried to step foot in the hole. "They can't get through, Saruman must have used some magic to keep them out."

"He probably didn't want Orcs rebelling and storming the castle…" I thought aloud, catching my breath. "But come on, they need us." Pippin nodded, grasping my hand and breaking into a run again. Soon we left the pitch black darkness of the hole and emerged into what seemed like a giant hall. The walls seemed as if they were made of a deep blue marble, and shadows from the pillars and scarce furniture danced on the walls.

"I think we are in the bottom, the door should be nearby," Pippin said, just as he was cut off by a cry. The ground of the tower shook beneath us, rattling the contents.

"Radagast," I breathed. Pippin had already started to look around. I followed him down a long corridor, then broke into a run when we saw the large door at the end. Though we were sprinting, it seemed as if it took forever to reach the end, seeming as if all hope was on the line. Pippin and I each took a handle, and pulled the heavy doors. It took all our strength to open them, flooding the dark hall with a blinding light.

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**_Again, sorry this one took a while . but it's not like many people were really waiting :/ *sadness* Anywho, it's almost over... which feels really weird. Thanks to anyone who has followed this so far and please please please review if you like it or have anything to say! _**


	18. Chapter 18

Merry's POV:

The sudden brightness made me blink a few times before I could see. Looking outside, we saw that the battle had seemed to freeze. Almost all eyes were on the open doors. But the silence only lasted for a split second before the battle continued, Rohirrim fighting even harder than before, determined. Gandalf caught our eye and flew past us on his horse, nodding briefly as he passed in a white and grey blur.

"Aragorn!" I heard Pippin cry from beside me. _What was he doing now?_ Aragorn had been fighting with Gandalf, so was close by; trotting over on his horse and out of the mess immediately.

"Pippin, Merry, well done," he smiled. "Let us hope that it makes the difference."

"Why is no one else entering the Tower?" Pippin asked with a confused tone and a look on his face to match.

"With Saruman, 'tis a battle of magic; not arrows and swords," Aragorn replied, looking up to the balcony.

Pippin's POV:

I had completely forgot about Radagast until now, and I quickly followed his gaze. There they were, two wizards still fighting, each looking only slightly tired. Saruman thrust his staff forward (*his wooden staff for all of you slash perverts*), sending Radagast to step back slightly with gritted teeth, trying to fight his magic.

"Aragorn," I started, but he seemed to read my thoughts as he held out his hand, pulling me up onto his horse as I took it, Pippin soon following me. We strayed back; the Orcs seemed to be dying away and loosing their vigor, raging flames dying into struggling embers as they fought hopelessly against the horsemen.

"Saruman," Gandalf's voice boomed above the clatter of battle. "You're greed has overcome one who I once knew and trusted," his anger and power was clear in his voice as shadows surrounded the balcony.

"You may call it greed, but I call it by another name, _intelligence,_" Saruman retorted coolly, holding his head high.

"You're intelligence has been lost to the fires of malice," Radagast all but glared before raising his staff and slamming it down, causing a few loose bricks to come tumbling down from the stone terrace. Saruman roared in rage, swiping his hand to the side, and his staff to the other, creating a gust of wind around them.

"You had your chance," Gandalf spoke softly, though I could clearly hear his words from the ground below. And with that, the two wizards took two steps forward, and blinding light flood from the wooden ends of their staffs, followed by a crack of lighting, striking smack between Saruman and the other two. The balcony crumbled at the impact, sending Saruman down with the rubble. The wizard cried out, sending one last beam of blue light into the sky before he became part of the wreckage.

"Is he…?" I started, glancing at Merry as if he could assure me that Saruman was truly gone.

"It's done Pip, he's dead," Merry smiled. And with those words I let out all the fear, tension, anger, and sorrow that had been building up inside of me with one simple breath. The Rohirrim cheered, finishing off the last straggling Orcs, raising their spears in the air triumphantly.

I cheered along with them, Merry taking my hand and raising it high in the air. But amidst all the glory, I couldn't help but notice how grey and lifeless Isengard was. My heart squeezed with a painful longing as my mind tried to conjure up the green rolling hills of the Shire I loved so much.

"I think," Merry said, taking my hand and looking into my eyes as if he could see straight into my heart. "That it's about time we return home."

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**_Sorry for the extremely short chapter, but I promise I will try and get the next one out very quickly. I believe the next chapter will be the last, so all the mushy goodbyes and whatnot can wait till then. Please review, it would make my day! ^^_**


	19. Chapter 19: Final Chapter

**_Superspecialauthor'snoteatthebeginning: First of all, congratulations if you could read that. Second, this is indeed the final chapter of Always Yours. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has favourited, followed, reviewed, or just read the story. And as cheesy as this sounds, I mean it- I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it. _**

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~One Month Later~

Merry's POV:

I held Pippin's hand in mine as we sat perched on our branch, looking out over the rolling green hills and low hobbit dwellings of the Shire.

We had both earned a strict rant from our mothers, though we were old enough to live on our own and had been for a while, but only after the tears and hugs. Gandalf had come back with us, along with Radagast, and of course Frodo and Sam. The inhabitants seemed fascinated with Radagast, though some felt they shouldn't be as he might not be ''decent folk" as they put it. But Radagast, like Gandalf, was in return fascinated with them and their way of life.

"What should we tell them?" Pippin asked softly, not meeting my gaze as he looked out onto the green hills. He was of course, referring to our love; something we had not yet mentioned to our family. Frodo and Sam new of course, but said nothing, and so far we had left it as just that- a secret.

"I don't know Pip," I replied honestly, moving closer. "But I know that whatever happens, I'll never stop loving you, and that we will never be apart," I smiled, kissing the top of his head.

"You're right, even though I already know all of this in my heart, it just seems more real when I hear you say it," Pippin smiled in return, holding my hand tighter. "Maybe we should tell them about the quest at the same time, saving the Shire may make up for any possible disappointment," Pippin laughed, meeting my gaze.

"Well if that doesn't win them over then I really don't know what will," I chuckled, pulling an apple from my pocket. I was about to take a bite when Pippin snatched it out of my hand, munching on it instantly.

Pippin's POV:

I smirked at Merry's expression as I took a bite of his apple.

"What? You should know not to have food out around me when I haven't eaten since second breakfast," I taunted, taking another bite.

"And you should know that I know you more than anyone else, therefore I also know your weaknesses," Merry smirked, reaching over and tickling my sides.

"Ah!" I cried out immediately, writhing under his fingers. "Ah, I give!" I cried between breaths, laughing uncontrollably.

"Give me the apple then," Merry teased relentlessly. I promptly tossed the apple at his head, smirking in return as it bounced off and fell to the ground.

"You've wasted a perfectly good apple Pip," Merry scolded, though he was smiling as he did so. "You owe me another one." I didn't respond, and instead leaned in, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"Will that suffice?" I smiled, our faces only inches apart.

"Not quite," Merry grinned, pulling me closer and kissing me passionately, then deepening the kiss as I leaned closer into his embrace.

"Surely that's not enough, I mean it was a delicious apple, and a shame you never got to know," I urged jokingly, staring into his eyes.

"That is a good point," Merry responded, pulling me even closer so we were a breath apart. "You can make it up to me tonight then," he growled playfully, kissing my nose.

"Of course Merry, the guilt would eat away at me if I didn't," I teased dramatically, causing a chuckle out of Merry as he realized my accidental pun.

"It was all worth it," Merry said suddenly.

"Everything," I replied, knowing what he meant; the whole journey, every moment of pain, every obstacle, every hardship.

"The only thing more important to me than the Shire, is you Pippin," Merry kissed me slowly after he said this.

"How come you have to take my thoughts, and turn them around on me?" I asked when we broke apart. "Why can't I be all loving and poetic first, telling you how the same thing?"

"Well I'm faster than you Pip, mentally," Merry teased, poking my side.

I kissed his nose before poking him back and hopping down from our place on the branch. "Physically as well?"

"We'll have to see about that," he laughed, jumping down as well. The grass felt refreshing as I ran through with bare feet, Merry close behind me.

"Race you to The Green Dragon," I challenged, but stopped short as Merry tackled me from behind, pinning me to the ground.

"Nice try Pip," Merry laughed, rolling over to lay beside me. I took his hand and stared up at the clouds before rolling over on my side to face him.

"I still say I'm faster," I smiled, taking his hand.

"Maybe," Merry pondered, rolling over to face me as well. We wrapped our arms around each other wordlessly, and kissed once more, each touch whispering _I love you_. And that's exactly what we both felt in our hearts as we lay in the grass in each other's embrace, never wanting to let go.

"I love you Pip," Merry whispered.

"I love you too Merry, with all my heart," I replied back softly.

"Always," Merry smiled. I smiled back before repeating the simple word that meant the world to both of us.

"Always."


End file.
